Dear PacBay families,
Happy Eastertide! As a Christ-centered learning community, I encourage all of us at PacBay to lean into hope and courage during these continually unsettling and confusing times. We are at a time when we see signs of COVID-19's abatement; yet, the virus still remains dire for others. We are at a time when our patience to be vigilant runs thin; yet, we still need to be careful. We are at a time when we find that some of us can reflect upon the past year with relative wholeness; yet, some of us are still in crisis. Looking back, I saw PacBay as more than just a school; it was a community of students, families, and teachers, learning to grow resilient together.
Now, some school updates that you may find helpful to know.
- Schedule Adjustment:
- Starting next week, our 4th & 5th grades and the middle school division will go to 5 on-campus days a week, while the virtual option remains open for the Sky cohort.
- No changes to the high school schedule.
- Major school events:
- Wed, 4/28 - High School Poetry Festival (Virtual)
- Fri, 4/29 - Middle School Earth Day & Fine Arts Special (On-Campus)
- Wed, 5/5 - High School Course Selection Assembly (Virtual)
- Wed, 5/5 - High School's World Vision Ignite Challenge (Virtual)
- Sat, 5/8 - High School Spring Formal (On-Campus)
- Wed, 5/19 - High School Academic Awards Chapel (Virtual)
- Thu, 5/27 - Middle School Promotion Exercise (On-Campus)
- Fri, 5/28 - High School Commencement Exercise (On-Campus)
- Summer Program at PacBay (Click here for more details)
- For high school students, we offer
- English 410: The World of Tolkien (think The Lord of the Rings; One Semester Course)
- Project-Based Engineering (One Semester Course)
- Ocean Discovery (with Remote Operated Vehicle; One Semester Course)
- Algebra I (Two-Semester Course)
- Algebra II (Two-Semester Course)
- Pre-Calculus (Two-Semester Course)
- For middle school students (including rising 5th graders), we offer
- Three-week robust enrichment and academic reboot camp
- Classes in areas of Arts, Culture & Language, STEM, Sports, and CORE Academics
- For high school students, we offer
- 2021-2022 School Year starts on August 10th, 2021 and ends on May 27th, 2022.
- Some congrats are in order:
- Congratulations to Ms. Natalie Ayres for receiving the votes to serve as the Vice President of CIF's Central Coast Section after many years of excellent service to the entire sectional while advancing PacBay's athletic program!
- Congratulations to Hahnmin Khim for receiving the Gold Medal (Summa Cum Laude & top 10%) and Duvessa Murphy for receiving the Silver Medal (Maxima Cum Laude & top 20%) from the 2021 National Latin Exam where over 88,000 students from over 20 countries participated in the exam this year!
- Congratulations to all the seniors for completing the challenging and engaging Senior Thesis Presentations last week! Topics covered include the ethical considerations on artificial intelligence, wage fairness for athletics and artists, various pressing challenges in societal violence and forms of oppression, and the implications and promise of space travel.
There is much for us to be thankful for. I am thankful that we have been back on campus while providing virtual options for those who need it. I am thankful that students are back on the basketball court, baseball field, softball field, and cross country course. I am thankful for seeing the joy of learning together amongst the students and teachers. I am optimistic about our school next year and believe that great student and community accomplishments at PacBay will continue.
Let's lean into the strength of our community together,
Dr. Michael Chen
Head of School
