The Bay School of San Francisco

Infobox School
name = The Bay School of San Francisco


motto =
established = 2004
type = Private
affiliation =
district =
grades = 9-12
president =
principal =
head of school = Ven. Malcolm H. Manson
dean =
faculty = 30
staff =
students = 240
enrollment =
athletics = Soccer, volleyball, baseball, basketball, golf, cross-country, track, sailing
conference =
colors = Blue, white
mascot = Breakers
free_label =
free_text =
free_label2 =
free_text2 =
location = 35 Keyes Ave.
San Francisco, C.A.
coordinates = coord|37.8003|-122.456|region:US_type:edu|display=inline
country = USA
homepage = [http://www.bayschoolsf.org Link]

The Bay School of San Francisco is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory high school that opened in 2004. The school moved into its current location in the Presidio of San Francisco in 2005. It specializes in science and technology, with an additional focus on studying the centrality of world religion and ethics in the 21st century.

History

Malcolm Manson, a former headmaster of Marin Country Day School and the Cathedral School for Boys, conceived of the idea of a new high school in the Presidio in 1992. In 1996, the school became incorporated. [Millard, Max. [http://maxmillard.com/articles/baysch.htm "Presidio's new Bay School welcomes first freshman class"] , "Marina Times", September, 2004. Accessed April 7, 2008.]

The school opened in 2004; at that time, a single class of freshman made up the student body. During the first school year, students attended classes in a temporary building, a "long, majestic white building on Schofield Road facing the bay" [Ibid.] . In August 2005, the school moved to its current (permanent) location on 35 Keyes Avenue.

Campus

The Bay School of San Francisco utilizes "one of the largest and most historic buildings on the Presidio's Main Post." [http://www.bayschoolsf.org/about/press/06-Presidio-Post-Jan.pdf] Building 35 was built in 1912, initially to be used as cavalry barracks, and later as bakers’ and cooks’ barracks, before becoming the headquarters for the U.S. IX Corps, which was responsible for all U.S. Army facilities within the Western United States. After major renovation, Building 35 reopened as the Bay School's new campus in August 2005. [ [http://www.bayschoolsf.org/campus/35-keyes-avenue.aspx "The Bay School Campus at 35 Keyes Avenue"] . The Bay School. Accessed April 8, 2008.]

The building contains convert|62000|sqft|m2|-2 of space, and features high ceilings, large spaces and natural light and ventilation. Among other things, it houses a convert|3000|sqft|m2|-2|sing=on library/media center and convert|4500|sqft|m2|-1|sing=on student center on the ground floor. There are 21 classrooms on the second and third floors. Bay School offers state-of-the-art science laboratory classrooms (for physics, biology and chemistry), a computer lab, and facilities for the school's music program. [Ibid.]

tudents

The 2007-2008 academic year sees the student body grow to approximately 240 freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Students come not only from San Francisco but also from other parts of the Bay Area, including Marin County, the Peninsula and the East Bay.

Because of the school's young age, students at Bay have great power in shaping the curriculum and philosophy. A new tradition is for the senior class to compose a new "guiding precept" during the Senior Retreat, to add to the other guiding precepts that the school offers to help students make responsible choices. In addition, a wide variety of non-traditional classes, exploring such issues as game theory and the philosophical conundrum of evil, are offered depending on student interest.

Curriculum and activities

The Bay School offers a demanding college preparatory curriculum designed to prepare students for the 21st century, with a focus on science and technology, ethics, world religions and cultures. The Bay School is one of the few independent high schools in the Bay Area to offer a comprehensive 4-year program in Mandarin Chinese.

Among the unique features of the school is the laptop program. Every student and teacher is given a Hewlett-Packard laptop, and a significant percentage of classwork and homework is done electronically and submitted online. In 2008, the Bay School math department abandoned whiteboard lectures in favor of tablet PCs and projectors.

Another unique program the school offers is the Senior Projects & Field-Based Learning Program. This senior project differs from similarly-named programs at many other schools in both depth and duration; a minimum of 65 hours of field work is expected of all seniors in a topic of their choice, and a formal presentation and/or paper is expected at the end of the project. In the first year of the program (2008), topics of focus have ranged from engineering and particle physics to music production and fashion design. [ [http://www.bayschoolsf.org/programs/senior-projects.aspx "Senior Projects & Field-Based Learning"] . The Bay School. Accessed April 8, 2008.]

The school also offers students a variety of athletic, arts, service learning and internship opportunities. Among other things, it fields teams in boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, volleyball and baseball. In addition, activities such as yoga, dance, tennis, martial arts, physical conditioning and sailing are offered.

Precepts and meditation

One well-known feature of the Bay School is a pledged oath that each student is expected to orally repeat during some morning gatherings at approximately weekly intervals. These oaths, or "precepts", are meant as the administration's assertion of the moral values of the school. These moral values include environmentalism, a ban on gossip and bullying, and kind speech. Often it is reiterated by administrators that the precepts are not rules but rather corrective guidelines. Recitation of the precepts have gradually become less common, perhaps in part because in the four years of the schools existence, the precepts have never been officially amended.

Complementing the precepts is group meditation, a mandatory event that occurs daily during morning gatherings. For five minutes every day, every student is required to sit quietly for five minutes with his or her eyes closed, to "keep the [morning gathering] room safe for others". The administration extols the value of meditation, claiming that meditation has been proven to improve the mental fitness and behavior of students.

References

External links

* [http://www.bayschoolsf.com/ Bay School of San Francisco official website]
* [http://www.presidio.gov/history/architecture/rehab.htm Rehabilitation projects: Bay School of San Francisco]
* [http://www.nps.gov/prsf/prsfphot/architec/mediter.htm National Park Services - The Mediterranean Revival]