Castilleja School

[http://www.castilleja.org/]

Castilleja School is a private college preparatory school for girls located in Palo Alto, California. "Casti", as it is nicknamed, has roughly 415 students in grades 6 through 12. The school was founded in 1907 by Ms. Mary Ishbel Lockey at the urging of the first President of Stanford University, Dr. David Starr Jordan. Miss Lockey herself was a Stanford alumna, and Dr. Jordan convinced her of the immediate need for a college preparatory school for young women in the Bay Area.

The student to teacher ratio is 8:1, and almost all Castilleja graduates go on attend a four-year college or university, with a significant number typically matriculating to Stanford. Castilleja is a member of the California Association of Independent Schools. [ [http://www.caisca.org/ California Association of Independent Schools] ]

The Castilleja Mascot is an Alligator (the Casti Gators).

Castilleja celebrated its 100 year birthday in 2007.

Traditions

Castilleja School retains a number of traditions; Junior-Senior Rivalry, "Ringing," and the annual Founder's Day ceremony complement the academic year and build a strong sense of community. Other traditions include Spirit Week ending with Gator Gathering, Cookie Thursdays, Grandparents' Day (the Wednesday before Thanksgiving), having the Yearly Guest Speaker, and the Father-Daughter Dinner-Dance.

School Spirit

Although the all-girls environment means that Castilleja lacks a football team, school spirit is not lacking. In fact, in this tight-knit community, school spirit becomes even more prevalent as entire grades begrudgingly compete against one another during school organized spirit weeks. Each grade, six through 12, is assigned a color which is often used during spirit weeks to show school pride. For example, during Junior/Senior Rivalry week, the whole school is decked out in red (by the seniors) and purple (by the juniors). Each grade is represented by a different color, which is a matter of distinguished pride. Sixth graders are marigold yellow, seventh graders are sky blue, eighth graders are a navy, freshmen are green, sophomores are orange, juniors are purple and seniors are red.

School spirit becomes a more individual tradition as each incoming sixth grader is paired with an eight grade "big sister" and each freshman is paired again with a senior. This allows the Castilleja spirit and traditions to be passed on each year. The "big sister" acts as a friend, mentor, and guide and is a meaningful part of the Castilleja social totem.

Spirit Days

About twice a year, each grade has a spirit day. These may include pajama day, blast from the past, or "guy" day, where the girls dress like boys. There is also a spirit week that the whole school participates in, which is themed so that each grade receives a different theme in a certain genre. Different grades compete in a friendly manner against each other. Themes may include class color day, decades day, or global day. These days are often great opportunities for the whole school campus to be decorated in many different colors.

Global Week

On the first week back from winter vacation, Castilleja has Global Week. During Global Week, the school hosts speakers and increases global awareness among the students, including problems such as poverty, disease, and violation of human rights. In 2008, the juniors embarked on a two week trip to China or India as part of the experience.

Facts and Features

Castilleja does not take any standardized tests, such as Star Testing. However, the students do take finals at the end of each semester, during which they can have free dress. The students can also vote for their leaders for the government. There is a different government for every class, but there is also a unified government for each of the Middle and Upper School. Middle School is called MSSG, for Middle School Student Government, and Upper School is ASB, for All Student Body.Castilleja hosts a camp during the summer which is 8 weeks long, divided into two 4 week sessions. The camp is in its 45th year of existence.

Extracurricular

In addition to a rigorous academic workload, Castilleja students participate in a diverse range of extracurricular opportunities including sports, theatre, music, arts, community service, and an abundance of other activities.

Athletics

Athletics are popular, both in Middle School and in the Upper School. In the upper school, sports are offered at both the varsity and junior varsity levels. Girls in Fall participate in Cross Country, Tennis, Volleyball, water polo, and golf. In the winter, they play basketball and soccer. In spring, softball, swimming, track and field, and lacrosse are the sports of choice. Every year they develop fake sports and create humorous sweatshirts. In 2006 it was the surfing team and in 2007 it was the rugby union team. In the middle school, sports develop skills, responsibility, and confidence while increasing physical ability. In fall, there is softball, cross country, and swimming. In Winter, there is soccer and basketball. In spring, there is tennis, volleyball, water polo, and track & field.

The Arts

Performing and visual arts are also an important part of Castilleja. Every year, the Upper School students may audition for the Fall Play and Spring Musical; past productions include A Midsummer Night's Dream, She Stoops to Conquer, and Dames at Sea. The Middle School musical was introduced in the 2005-2006 school year to replace the traditional 8th grade musicals and 7th grade production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The premiere MS musical was The Music Man, and the following year, Anything Goes was performed. The 2007-2008 show was Suessical the Musical. Middle School students participate in the acting, while upper school students run the technical aspects of the show.

In February, the school puts on "Arts with a Heart," a charity show with emphasis on dance. In the past, Eastside Prep has helped with the production as well. Formerly, this was called "Dancing for a Difference." Students may help with the backstage work on this show as well as planning it. Students may also participate in the Castilleja Chamber Orchestra and the Upper School student-run theater group, Foolwise Players.

Art courses include chorus, theater, drawing & painting, design & sculpture, film, and photography.

Student Government

Many students also participate in student government, both at all-school and grade levels. They attend weekly meetings, and help plan and bring to life school-wide events. New officers are elected each semester. The officers are: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Community Service Committee, Athletic Committee, Birthday Committee, Social Committee, and Arts Coordinator. There are two main governments, one for middle school and one for Upper School. Each grade also has a government of their own.

Publications

*Counterpoint, the official all-school newspaper, publishes weekly and monthly versions.
*Castilleja Free Press (CFP), a student-lead political magazine that publishes bi-monthly
*Mochuelo, the upper school literary and art magazine
*Paintbrush, the yearbook
*The Flame, the middle school newspaper, is intermittently published depending on staff enthusiasm.
*Around the Circle, a monthly parent newsletter.
*Full Circle, a semi-annual newsletter sent to all constituents.

Clubs

Castilleja students have the opportunity to start and lead clubs. To start a club, a student must be sponsored by teacher, who will become the club's mentor. These clubs serve a multitude of student needs-some of the most unusual clubs include the Rainbow Alliance, an intramural Quidditch league, Physics Club, Chinese Club, the Sumerian Philosophy and Cheesetasting Club, a Junior Equestrian Club and a gardening club which tends to school foliage. A strong emphasis on community service has produced the Peer Tutoring club and the Ecumencial Hunger Program. A math club, a speech and debate club, and robotics club also represent Castilleja's competitive side, and regularly compete with successful results. There is a Kitchen Witches club, a lacrosse club, and an International Fun Food and Movies club to name a few more. Club time is built into the weekly schedule. In the 2007-2008 school year, clubs were held from 2:30 - 3:10 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Curriculum

There are 7 periods in the Castilleja schedule, up to two of which may be free periods (for upper schoolers only). Each period meets three times one week and four times the next (depending on whether it is an "A" or "B" week. Each period has one long period per week which is 75 minutes instead of the standard 55 minutes. Long periods for AP science courses are 105 minutes to provide ample time for labs. While students, and upper school students especially have plenty of choice in what they take, they nevertheless work very hard, often experiencing something akin to Stanford "duck syndrome".

Upper School Required Courses

4 years
*English3 yearsHistory
*Cultures and Civilizations Course
*The American Political System Course
*The Individual and Society Course
*US History Honors or AP US History3 yearsMathematics
*Through Algebra 2/Trigonometry3 yearsModern or Classical Language
*Through year III of French, Chinese, Latin, or Spanish (see notes below)3 yearsScience
*Physics, Chemistry, and Biology2 years
*Physical Education and Health and Wellness or Dance (see notes below)3 semestersVisual & Performing Arts
*Introduction to the Arts Course
*1 full year in a single arts discipline

Students have plenty of choice in regard to what they wish to learn. Juniors and Seniors especially may choose a large range of English, science, history, math, arts, language, interdisciplinary, AP and non-AP electives, as well as independent study. Most students take at least 3 Advanced Placement (AP) credits.

*"Notes"
**Dance may count as a Physical Education credit or an Arts credit, though not both.

Middle School Required Courses

3 years
*English (6, 7, 8)
*History
**Ancient Civilizations
*World History
*American History
*Math
*Language
**French, Latin, Spanish, or Mandarin
*Science
**Earth, Physical, and Life Science
*Physical Education and Health and Wellness
*Visual & Performing Arts1 year
*8th Grade Speech

Sports

Castilleja offers many sports for both middle and upper school.

Middle School Sports

Fall
*Softball
*Swimming
*Cross CountryWinter
*Soccer - before winter break
*Basketball - after winter breakSpring
*Tennis
*Volleyball
*Water polo
*Track & Field

There are multiple teams in the middle school for each sport, depending on the sport. There is always a VA team (varsity A). In many of the sports, there are VB teams, too. Sixth graders can try out for VA, but in many of the sports, there are JVA (junior varsity A) and JVB (junior varsity B) teams for sixth graders alone. The average middle school team practices three days a week, which includes after-school games against other school teams.

Upper School Sports

Fall
*Cross Country
*Golf
*Tennis
*Volleyball
*Water poloWinter
*Basketball
*SoccerSpring
*Softball
*Lacrosse
*Swimming
*Track & Field

The sports program at Castilleja continues to improve and evolve with the addition of new sports, including the newly-created Equestrian Team, and the construction of a new athletic facility. The new facility, which opened January 11, 2008, includes a multi-level complex with two gyms, a fitness center, rock climbing wall, and a dance studio.

Uniform

The standard uniform consists of either a navy blue or white polo shirt, without any logo. The school's student store also sells red shirts with the casti logo on it. Navy blue pants or light blue pinfeather skirts are worn to go with the shirts. A wide variety of sweatshirts are provided by the school's student store, all red, white, navy blue, or gray. The formal uniform, or dress whites, are worn on a few days of the year. These are white skirts, white sailor tops, and a class color tie.

Notable Alumnae

* Amy Chow, Olympic medalist in gymnastics
* Josie Maran, actress and model
* Penny Pritzker, billionaire
* Grace Slick, singer and songwriter
* Tori Anthony, pole vaulter

References

External links

* [http://www.castilleja.org/ Castilleja School]
* [http://www.gatorbotics.com/ Castilleja's Robotics Team Website]
* [http://www.castillejabasketball.com/ Castilleja School's Varsity Basketball Website]
* [http://www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/1621 Castilleja School] assessed at Private School Review