End of Year Recap from the Head of School

The Social Entrepreneurship class, who applied the principles of design thinking as they completely reimagined the Student Lounge. Students surveyed their classmates, took inspiration from a series of local businesses, and managed a budget in order to remake the space.

The thoughtful series of events organized by Student Council to remember the victims of the tragedy in Parkland, Florida. Elected members of Student Council addressed the entire school to reaffirm Drew’s opposition to gun violence in schools, and engaged students in options for action: 17 minutes of quiet reflection—one minute to honor each victim—or a letter-writing campaign in support of common sense gun legislation. More than 200 students and faculty then marched to San Francisco’s Civic Center to join the city-wide protest.

The community response to the devastating fires in the North Bay. Students used canceled athletic practice time to write letters of sympathy and encouragement to victims and organized a successful drive for supplies and goods.

Experiential education, which continues to thrive. Students took advantage of experiential electives, DEALL, and Senior Projects to deepen their passions, develops new skills, and further the exploration of their identity. As we saw last week during the Senior Project presentations, when students pursue lifelong passions it leads to remarkable discoveries and products.

Drew athletics, which had another great year as the program continues to grow and improve. The Girls Varsity Soccer team enjoyed an undefeated regular season and played for both the BCL-Central and NCS Championships, ultimately falling just short. The Boys Varsity Soccer team made it to the semifinal round of the NCS Championship. The Boys Varsity Baseball team played for the BCL-Central Championship for the first time ever, and qualified for the NCS tournament for the first time ever. Additionally, 22 Drew athletes were named to all-league teams.

The record number of student visitors hosted during the admissions season. Enrollment at Drew remains in high demand, and we are eager to welcome in the outstanding Class of 2022 as well as the transfer students who will start at Drew in the fall. Thank you to all of the student and parent/guardian volunteers for your support of Drew throughout the admissions process.

The Annual Fund, which supports every operational aspect of the school, reached a three-year high in total dollars donated to Drew. Additionally, 64 donors supported Drew with leadership gifts of more than $2,500, which further strengthens Drew’s ability to fulfill its mission.

The Performing Arts department, who produced two plays—A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Urinetown—along with the student-created Long Story Short, two concerts, and countless other ways in which the arts are woven into daily life at Drew. At graduation, the Vocal Ensemble will perform a world debut of a piece written expressly for them by Beatriz Corona, a Cuban composer.

The Visual Arts department, who presented two gallery walks, embarked upon many field trips to local museums, hosted a wide variety of visiting artists and consistently rotated the captivating artwork hanging in our hallways that makes Drew feel even more like a second home.

Community time, which featured meaningful and powerful discussions and presentations from affinity groups and the Global Awareness team, in addition to performances and activities that bring the community together in a unique way.

The Class of 2018, who earned acceptances to 168 different colleges and universities across the U.S. and internationally.