News

Members of the Boys JV Basketball team tutor neighborhood students at the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, also home to Drew's gym.

Congratulations to all of Drew's visual artists, musicians, dancers, and visual and performing arts teachers for a hugely successful event celebrating the arts at Drew!

Drew alumni gathered in the new Booker T. Washington for their first look at Drew's new home gym and the annual Alumni Basketball Game.

Graduates from 1995 through 2017 competed against this year's Boys Varsity Basketball team. The current Dragons staked out a 20 point lead in the third quarter, fueled by fierce defense and some timely shooting from Jordan '20 and Tyler '18. The alumni closed the gap to one point in the waning seconds, but key free-throw shooting down the stretch from the students propelled them to the first victory over the alumni in eight years.

“This class is much more creative than I was expecting,” says Mari ’18. “It incorporates the academic and creative really well. There’s a great balance between art and science, plus all of the math and programming that we do.”

Click to read more.

Click to read more.

Congratulations to the #6 seed Boys Varsity Soccer team, who defeated Mendocino 3-0 to advance to the NCS D2 quarterfinals where they will face #3 seed Calistoga on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m., at Rincon Valley High School.

Click here to see the entire bracket.

"I feel very at home," says Tim '21. "This is a connected community, and that's why I chose Drew in the first place." Hear from Tim and other members of the 9th-grade class about transitioning to high school at Drew.

The Girls Volleyball players played the first game in Drew's new home gym in the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center on Friday, Oct. 20.

Drew is thrilled to welcome Academic Dean Molly T. MacKean, Ph.D., to the Drew community this year. Molly arrived at Drew from Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, where for six years she was a teacher, coach, and dormitory head.

Drew athletes, unable to participate in any games or meets due to the poor air quality from the fires in neighboring Sonoma and Napa counties, used the spare time to make personal hygiene kits for victims of the fire, complete with handwritten notes of sympathy and support.

12th-graders in Dr. Adrianne Francisco's English 4 seminar participate in a student-driven discussion of the historical context and key themes from the first chapter of Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake.

Drew's Global Awareness program, one of many ways in which Drew connects subject-based academic skills with real life critical thinking opportunities through a variety of approaches, kicked off for the year with an extended assembly led by Social Studies teachers Dr. Grace Leslie-Waksman and Daniel Philpot, around the central question, "In a tolerant society, how do you respond to intolerance." The assembly will be followed up by small group discussions during advisory time on Friday.

Students in James Garrison's Music Production course record the sound of pens and pencils hitting a variety of surfaces, load those sound files into a digital recording and editing software, and then manipulate the sounds to create beats and rhythm tracks.

Congratulations to the Cross Country team on completing the first race of the season! The Dragons competed among 16 teams on a challenging two-mile course. 10th-grader Cleo H-F. led the girls with a 15:55 time, good for 46th overall, while 12th-grader Ben B. set the pace for the boys with a 12:50 time, good for 77th.

Students in Caitlin Jackson's Mandarin 3 class create two teams to compete against one another in an online vocabulary quiz as Ms. Jackson plays the "Family Feud" theme to add authenticity to the moment.

The entire student body participates in Club Faire, a start-of-the-school year tradition, to sign up for any number of the options for student clubs that include affinity groups, interest groups, and more.

Students in Burke Green's Electronics & Design course use math, soldering irons, and teamwork to design, develop, and create parallel curcuits. The Electronics & Design course takes place in Drew's MakerSpace.

Students in Marian Ferrara's Geometry class work in small groups and as individuals to build their fluency with quadratics as they focus on the maximum/minimum point as well as domain and range.

Drew Dragons: Join the Drew Community for Big Game Day this Friday, Sept. 8, as the Volleyball and Soccer teams play vs Gateway. Gateway and Drew will co-host a free BBQ on Gateway's courtyard. Food, drinks, and snacks will be provided for players, students, families, and faculty.

Girls' Volleyball at Gateway gym: JV at 4:15 pm., Varsity at 5:30 p.m.
Boys' Varsity Soccer at Kimball Field:7:30 p.m. 

Come out and cheer on the Dragons!

Students in Maria De Los Angeles Lopez Larios' Spanish 4 class work in small groups to craft short stories in a variety of genres using preterite and imperfect.

A hallmark of Drew's program, Experiential Electives give students the opportunity to delve more deeply into individual interests and try new activities in a dedicated weekly class frequently held beyond Drew's campus, as is the case with the Croquet and Intramural Basketball Experiential Electives, which are held at Hamilton Field and Recreation Center, respectively.

9th-graders in Dr. Luis Fernandez's Biology course acquaint themselves with the scientific method and gathering and recording data—a vital component for success in science—through a lab in which they track how the ratio of baking soda to vinegar affects the chemical reaction.

9th-graders in Jean-Paul Ouellette's Algebra 1 course work collaboratively to explore, understand, and articulate multiple approaches to function notation.

12th-graders in Cameron Lee's Introduction to Engineering Course utilize a simple but effective technique to demonstrate tension and compression forces and how folded paper reacts to both by measuring the number of washers and weights that can be held by paper based on the number of folds in the paper.

11th-graders in Judy Butterfield's English 3 Honors: American Literature course engage in collaborative learning as they work in small groups to develop two discussion questions based on two chapters of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. After sharing their questions with the class on the whiteboard, each student voted for a question they felt would lead to the richest discussion before engaging in that discussion.

9th-graders in Ali Blum's Drawing and Design class develop their ability to translate visual perception with contour lines by creating a series of blind contour drawings: first of their classmates, then of their shoes. Through this exercise, students hone their creative expression, measuring and proportion, artistic vocabulary, and aesthetic valuing.

Excitement and anticipation fill the air at Drew as the community gathers together to kick off another school year with an all-school assembly featuring this year's first "Battle of the Classes" contest before students disperse to their academic classes to begin a rich and rewarding year of intellectual discovery.

Congratulations to 11th-grader Kaitlyn, who has been selected for the U.S. National Traditional Wushu Team to compete in the 7th World Kung Fu Championships this fall in China. The World Kung Fu Championships is one of the world's most prestigious kung fu events and is held every two years.

Drew is pleased to once again host musicians from around the Bay Area for the Golden Gate Bass Camp SF, a five-day long musical exploration of all aspects of playing the bass. 

A handful of Drew students and faculty, organized by Drew's Gender and Sexuality Awareness club, joined in the SF Pride Parade with other Bay Area independent schools.

The 71 members of the class of 2017 graduate and become the newest alumni of Drew School. The graduates represent Drew in all of its facets having found their voice as scholars, athletes, leaders, mentors, artists, writers, explorers, humorists, empathic community members, activists, and more. The graduates will attend more than 50 colleges across the U.S. and into Canada this fall. Congratulations!

As we conclude this school year and navigate through the exams, ceremonies, and celebrations that mark this moment, I want to take the opportunity to reflect on the past year.

Congratulations to the more than 200 Drew students who participated on an athletic team this year for winning the Sportsmanship Award from the BCL-Central and CIF NCS Leagues!

Students in Theater Workshop and Advanced Theater workshop conclude their year of exploring the dramatic arts as they present a variety of improv games and Horton Foote scenes, respectively.

Congratulations to the back-to-back North Coast Section, CIF Champion Girls Varsity Soccer team! Congratulations to the Dragons for their 6-2 victory in the championship game, which caps a two-year run in which the team compiled a 40-1-3 record and won two BCL-Central Championships in addition to the two NCS Championships. Here's to all of the players and coaches, and to community members who have supported the team!

Congratulations to the Girls Varsity Soccer team who defeated Bay 4-1 to claim their second consecutive BCL Central Championship!

Thursday, May 4. Exhibits open at 5:30 p.m. Concert begins at 7 p.m.

Awareness turns to action during Drew's annual 280 Day, which was kicked off with powerful music with a strong message from keynote speaker Naima Shalhoub. Students engaged in two sessions of workshops with 23 organization participants, including Drew alumni Stephen Malta '12 and Rizwan Sardar '12, and Drew parents Gail Mallimson and Kevin Erdman. Activities ranged from exploring the depths and horrors of human trafficking to conservative consumption of natural resources, preparing kits for the homeless, and much more.

The newest members of the Drew community gather on campus with their Peer Advisors for New Student Night. After a record high number of applications to Drew this year, we're excited to welcome this outstanding class of scholars, athletes, artists, activists, and now Dragons who come to Drew from more than 30 different schools around the Bay Area!

Congratulations to the defending champion Girls Varsity Soccer team, who have started their season 11-0. Combined with last year's 23-0-2 record, that makes 36 consecutive matches without a loss.

Cheer on the Dragons this Thursday, April 13, at 4 p.m. at the Beach Chalet as they take on undefeated International at 4 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, April 13, at the Beach Chalet. Go Dragons!

9th-graders in Robert Nelson's World History 1 course complete a month-long project of presenting a mock trial to determine whether Mao had the mandate of heaven. Students researched different historical figures and presented their research throughout the trial.

See the students preparing for the trial here.

The entire Drew student body takes a quick stroll down to Kimball Field for a capture the flag tournament. In the first round, the 12th-graders beat the 9th-graders and the 10th-graders captured the flag of the 11th-graders. In the final match, 12th-graders eeked out a victory over the 10th-graders to become champions.

Students in Morgan Benz's French 4 class continue their exploration of verbs with an oral exercise to familiarize themselves with new vocabulary featured in the short film Pas de Bagages.

Drew students and faculty are exploring all across San Francisco, the greater Bay Area, and the world during the annual DEALL Week (Drew Education for Active Lifelong Learning). See below for updates from the field!

Students in Marian Ferrara's Algebra 2 class work collaboratively on test corrections for a recent evaluation focused on rational functions.

9th-graders in Amelia Stewart's Theater Workshop class perform contemporary monologues for an audience of family and friends. Students demonstrated their growth in the areas of character development, vocal technique, and physical acting while adding the additional element of an audience.

The Track and Field team travels to Kezar Stadium to participate in a track meet for the first time in Drew School history.

10th-graders in Evan Schnair's English 2 class compose comparisons of two different performances of a scene from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream that they watched before working in groups of four to analyze and review the comparisons of classmates.

9th-graders in Robert Nelson's World History 1 class work in groups to prepare for a mock trial to settle whether or not Mao had the mandate of heaven.

Students in Jen Solomon's Anatomy & Physiology Honors class execute an ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) lab Ms. Solomon designed last summer during her Genentech Research Fellowship.

Drew's Women's Group present a combination of facts, figures, personal stories, reflections, and ruminations about womanhood during an all-school assembly.

Students in the Recreational Math experiential elective present a brief history lesson of Pi for Pi Day before making way for two performances: a recitation of more than 200 digits of Pi from students Maddie and Jack, and a pie eating contest.

Under the direction of Drew's Performing Arts Department, students in the cast and crew present The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Students in Dr. Leslie-Waksman's Race and Gender Studies class head to the library to select books from a collection curated by Dr. Leslie-Waksman to read and write analytical essays.

Students in Dr. Luis Fernandez's Chemistry class explore the difference between the melting point and conductivity of solutions by examining the physical properties of ionic compounds that result from electron transfer and covalent compounds or molecules that result from sharing electrons.

Students in Lisa Bostwick's Advanced Painting class work on various self-directed projects intended for future exhibition.

Students in Amanda Papanikolas' Spanish 2 class form concentric circles to practice discussions utilizing irregular preterite before taking their seats to continue work on projects in which students describe the context of—and story behind—a photo of their choosing or creation.

Students in Burke Green's Physics Honors class utilize Processing.org to program simulations of gravity and other physics concepts requiring the students to perform physics and calculus.

Drew's annual Unity assembly celebrates equality, inclusion, and diversity. This year's assembly featured a musical opening from 12th-grader Leah and Mr. Free—accompanied by Mr. Garrison, Ms. Greene, and Mr. Reed—and four presenters from YouthSpeaks who performed an array of spoken word pieces.

9th-graders in Demond Walker's Algebra 1 class solve a variety of equations and word problems using elimination.

Drew students share their creative writing (poems and prose pieces) alongside Kate Schatz, author of Rad American Women A-Z and Rad Women Worldwide. This event is part of Drew's annual Writers Festival.

Kate Schatz (pronounced ‘Shots’) is the New York Times-bestselling author of Rad American Women A-Z and Rad Women Worldwide. She’s a writer, editor, and educator, who’s been passionate about both writing and politics since she was a kid. She lives with her family on the island of Alameda, and loves avocados, baseball, karaoke, cats, and researching radical feminist histories.

Students in James Garrison's AP Music Theory course invite five musicians from the San Francisco Academy Orchestra to campus to perform arrangements the students created digitally. Hearing live musicians perform the arrangements that had only been heard on laptops up to that point brought out emotional responses in the students.

Drew's annual Writers Festival this year featured a keynote from Chinaka Hodge, a poet, educator, playwright, and screenwriter originally from Oakland. After reading multiple poems from across her career as a writer, Hodge sat for a Q&A session moderated by Drew students Leah '17 and Keiko '18.

9th-graders in Lisa Bostwick's Drawing and Design class exercise their mastery of tones and shades by creating painted color wheels.

Students in Maren Anderson's Marine Science class dissect branzino and red snapper, observing the external anatomy and analyzing the internal organs and systems.

9th-graders in Eli Colby's English 1 class compose, read, and analyze figurative lines using similies and metaphors before looking for key instances of figurative writing in Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter.

The Dragons battle Waldorf in three basketball games on a Friday evening: a JV Boys loss, Varsity Girls victory, and a close-but-not-close-enough Varsity Boys loss.

9th-graders in Jen Solomon's Biology class utilize Play-Doh and their smartphone cameras to create stop-motion videos chronicling the cell cycle: interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.

Students in Karen Sarrafzadeh's American Sign Language 2 class begin a "Beauty of Art" project in which they create drawings that blend a hand making a sign for a certain word with a visual of the word itself.

Students in all of Drew's Mandarin language courses organize a Chinese New Year celebration during community time that includes cultural lessons, games, food, music, photos, and more.

The Performing Arts Department performs Under Construction, an experimental, non-traditional theatrical exploration of the ideas, images, and individuals that populate our society. Combining dramatic text, poetry, music, movement, and digital media, Under Construction featured the talents of the Advanced Theater Workshop ensembles and the Advanced Theater Production crew.

12th-graders in Mr. Free's Enlgish 4 class, a seminar on hip-hop literature, share and respond to excerpts from Jay-Z's memoir, "Decoded."

9th-graders in Lara Greene's Music Fundamentals class work together to understand and perform a handful of interrelated patterns.

Students in Cara Cummins' Physics class create egg drop devices and drop them from the breezeway, collecting valuable data all the while.

Students in Mr. Free's English 4: Spiritual Quests class examine and analyze a verse of "Paid in Full" by Eric B ad Rakim, paying attention to how Rakim informs, persuades, and entertains the listener. 

Students in Dr. Luis Fernandez's Anatomy & Physiology class explore the cardiovascular system through a dissection of a sheep's heart.

The Drew community takes a moment during inauguration day to create a peace mandala in the courtyard as a visible demonstration of Drew's commitment to inclusivity and embracing all viewpoints and backgrounds.

Students in Ali Blum's Printmaking class hear from local artist and printmaker Calixto Robles as he details his process and his evolution as an artist.

Eleven Drew students, accompanied by English teacher Lingerr Senghor, attended the YouthSpeaks: Bringing the Noise event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Read below for their reflections on the event:

9th-graders in Maria Lopez-Larios' Spanish 1 class continue their journey toward fluency as they review verb forms and tenses in advance of a quiz before working in pairs on a vocabulary exercise.

The JV Dragons spent time over the winter break with the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy on a planting project in the Presidio's eastern tributary.

Coach Bob Thayer says, "No amount of egg nog could keep our team away from this project. Not only is Jason the JV boys leading scorer, he's also leading the efforts to keep the environment clean and protected. If you thought Julian had a sweet stroke from behind the arc, you should see him dig a pothole. Eli gets the assist to the hillside by preventing erosion. Johnny and Stewey go big on the block and they also go big volunteering their time to our community."

Congratulations to 11th-grader Alina, whose artwork is on display at the FOG Design + Art Fair at the Fort Mason Center. Visitors to the fair who stop for a drink or snack see a large wall decorated with laser cut stencils of flowers that Alina sketched, designed, and created.

"There are different layers on each laser cut," says Alina of the detail in her work. "There are pedals, lines, the background color, and more. I sprayed through the laser cuts with different colored spray paints."

From the FOG Design + Art website: Celebrating today’s most significant creatives and leading contributors to the worlds of design and visual arts, the fair assembles 45 leading international galleries; prominent 20th-century and contemporary design dealers; a weekend of exciting programs; and 21POP, a special installation created by Stanlee Gatti.

Students in Cameron Lee's AP Chemistry class delve into a lab on preparing buffers and buffer capacities. A buffer solution is resistant to pH changes when small amounts of strong acid or base are added. Buffers are common in many areas of chemistry when the pH must be controlled during the course of a reaction.

9th-graders in Jen Solomon's Biology class explore the ins and outs of microscopes by examing a cut-out lowercase "e," a swab from a student's cheek, and more.

Students in James Garrison's Advanced Ensemble Band class begin work on a new piece of music by exploring their individual parts with Mr. Garrison and on their own before playing portions of the piece together as an ensemble.

Students in Ali Blum's Printmaking class create romantic and punny screen prints in advance of Valentine's Day, citing the substantial lead time required to produce this type of work.

Throughout the Printmaking class students focus on process and technique as they learn to translate concepts to images and the effect of color on the impact of a print.

Students in Morgan Benz's French 3 class compose and ask one another questions featuring three verb forms: present, passé composé, and L'imparfait. The topics of the students' questions ranged from winter break activities to memories from childhood.

French 3 engages students in an in-depth review of grammar and vocabulary and introduces advanced tenses such as the past perfect, past conditional, and subjunctive mood. In addition, students read and discuss a variety of literary texts. 

9th-graders in Bob Thayer's class work together on a word problem involving an unknown number of trays in a cafeteria. Students work in pairs on targeted portions of the problem in between explanations and tips from Mr. Thayer.

9th-graders in Juna McDaid's English course take an inquiry-based approach to start their study of Amy Tan's "The Bonesetter's Daughter." Before reading a word of the text, students inquire and infer about the book based simply on its title in order to predict themes and potential plotlines.

12th-graders in Dr. Ian Livie's Modern U.S. History Through Media class kick off the second semester with an inquiry-based discussion to flesh out Alec Baldwin's famous scene from "Glengarry Glen Ross." Dr. Livie led students in analyzing and discussing the who, what, when, and where by asking simple questions such as "what do you see?" and "what do you hear?" Students then were given an overview of what to expect from the course and provided their textbooks, "These United States: 1945 to the Present."