I watched Brené Brown’s Netflix show last night. I have read (and re-read) her books and love her Ted Talk. Her show on Netflix is like a highlight reel of her books peppered with her sense of humor and great storytelling. Take the time to watch it, it’s so worth it. Of course, I […]
Jett Ed
Summer Plans
What did you do as a junior high and high school student during your summers? Camp? Summer job? Nothing? I was a life guard, and a camp counselor at the park near home in L.A.. It was the most exhausting, but fun job I’ve ever had. These days the summer options for junior high […]
Routine & Consistency
I celebrated my birthday last week in Tahoe with famiy and friends and I’m not going to lie, reentry was a challenge when Monday rolled around. Monday is usually my day to set goals for the week, reset, and prioritize my to-do list. However, this week I found myself procrastinating (yes I watched Lady Gaga […]
Lessons learned from Marie Kondo
I have joined the Marie Kondo wave of tidying up just like everyone else and spent the beginning of 2019 bingeing her new Netflix show. There is beauty in the houses that are magically made over in the course of a 40 minute show (while in reality the families being featured are toiling away […]
Test Optional/Flexible Colleges and How They are Game Changers
I went to a great talk last night put on by the Sequoia Union Parent Ed Series. If you haven’t attended one of their events, I highly recommend them. The topic of last night’s event was Twenty Years in College Admission—What Has Changed, What Hasn’t: Reflections from Both Sides of the Desk. The legendary Alice Kleenan interviewed […]
Goodreads Best Books of 2018
Goodreads released their annual readers’ choice awards today. One of their categories is YA fiction and there are so many great books on their list, I wanted to share some of my favorites here. Becky Albertalli, who wrote Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda has two books on the list, the #1 YA readers’ choice is Leah […]
Back to basics…the benefits of using a planner
We are entering one of the busiest times of the year for our students and their families. Between academic commitments, extracurriculars and end of the year exams, projects (and SATs for our juniors!), things are well…chaotic. I wanted to share a gentle reminder for the benefits of using a written planner. Many of our students […]
benefits of mindfulness and meditation for kids
Jim Wiltens, who teaches fabulous leadership classes for elementary and middle school students is one of my favorite resources for students. As he says,”extraordinary people are ordinary people with extraordinary habits”. Jim teaches leadership in a tangible way to students; giving them tips and tricks they can implement immediately. Meditation and mindfulness are high on […]
Lessons from Ira Glass
This American Life might be one of my favorite podcasts/radio journalism formats of all time. I am dating myself, but I remember listening to NPR and timing drives so I could catch the show when it aired. It’s a weekly public radio program and podcast; each week they choose a theme and put together different […]
Calling all artists
Do you have an interest in art? These competitions for high schoolers are a great way to get recognition for hard work, show demonstrated interest in art and also have scholarship money tied to them. We often hear students protest competing because they don’t think they’ll win. But, there is a benefit to submitting work […]