Faculty get ready to run

Science instructor Elizabeth Ashforth and math instructor Alison Moser are train­ing for marathons.

Ashforth is running to raise money for the John Wayne Foundation, an organiza­tion that raises money for cancer research, to honor of a friend who passed away.

“When my friend died, I made a prom­ise to myself that I’d do something in her memory,” Ashforth said. “Every time I’m out running and feel like giving up – which is often – I think about Rene, and it keeps me going. Nothing can be as bad as chemother­apy every three weeks for years and years.”

Ashforth plans to run a half-marathon this November, and she will also run the Buffalo Half-Marathon on Catalina Island in February. She will then run a full mara­thon later in the year, but she hasn’t decided which marathon yet.

Math instructor Alison Moser, who is training with LA Leggers, said that she in­tends to run the Los Angeles Marathon in late March. However, as part of her train­ing schedule, she will first run the Pasade­na Marathon in February.

“I got caught up in the excitement of those training for the full marathon,” Moser said.

To learn more about the John Wayne Foundation, click HERE.

– Tahira

Violets participate in KCLA cancer walk

Two students and four teachers participated in The Lynne Cohen Foundation’s Kickin’ Cancer Walk on San Vicente Blvd. in Brentwood Sept. 13.

Participants included science instructor Stacy Sjoberg, math instructors Alison Moser and Melissa Banister, English instructor Mark Krewatch, and students Sophie  ’11 and Ileana ’11.

The Foundation’s Development Assistant, Kate Nevels ’00, and Ileana interned with Nevels last summer and helped to organize the event.

“It was a really fun way to help a great cause,” Sophie said.

To learn more about the KCLA walk, click HERE.

– Sophie

Say goodbye to club periods

Club meetings are a thing of the past, replaced by class or town hall meetings. “A faculty survey was conducted last spring that showed not many club periods were actually being used for club meetings,” Assistant Head of School Laura Hotchkiss said.

Twelfth grade dean Alison Moser said that overall classes will have the same amount of meeting time as they had in the past, but they will just be able to concentrate it when they need it the most.

“The renaming of the community periods allows each of the individual classes to have the time they need when they need it, and they can therefore have the ‘free’ time when it’s lighter in their schedules at the discretion of the deans,” Moser said.

Hotchkiss said she is confident that deans will be conscientious to leave some time for students to do homework.

“Like most of my friends, I use club periods to finish homework or get ahead on assignments. Due to the new policy, I will lose some of this time during the day and will have to better plan my study schedules at home,” Devin ’10.

Kyanh Tonnu, faculty advisor for the literary magazine The Edge, is worried that clubs that had previously relied on regular club meetings for communication could die out.

“However, we will not be affected as long as we are creative with our time now,” Tonnu said.

– Brooke