Village Chat

Ann Q. Peters

Graduations have been coming at us thick and fast. Kenwood School's sixth grade graduation ceremony had to be moved indoors on May 26, due to the unseasonably rainy weather, but that did nothing to dampen the spirits of the graduates and their proud families. Likewise, the end-of the year pool party became a bowling party instead, but the kids had just as much fun as ever. Several awards were given out at graduation. The DAR Award (Daughters of the American Revolution) for good citizenship was given to Savannah Bertrand and Christopher Voegels; Romy Simpson was the recipient of the Danielle McKenzie Most Inspirational Student Award; and the two Outstanding Students of the Year were Allie Ahern and Gabriel Schoenbach.

The previous week the Kiwanis Club of Oakmont presented four students with the Hope of America Award, based on academic and leadership capabilities. Those students were sixth-graders Savannah Schloemp and Tiana Burns, and fifth-graders Elizabeth Kolling and Henry O'Donnell. Congratulations to all the graduates, and good luck next year!

After the kids leave Kenwood, they move into the Santa Rosa City Schools, usually Rincon Valley Middle School and Maria Carrillo High School. And despite being in a much larger pool, Kenwood kids continue to shine. Four former Kenwood students at RVMS, Kyrie Dawson, Laurel McCaull, Cami Rencken and Jackie Schloemp won Presidential Academic Awards (for having an overall GPA of 4.0). In addition, Kyrie, Laurel and Jackie were each named Student of the Year by their teachers, and Camie was named RVMS Athlete of the Year. Congratulations, girls!

All the area high school graduation ceremonies have taken place, and here's what we know so far. The following young people graduated from Maria Carrillo High School:

Taylor Anderson, who graduated Summa Cum Laude and is a CSF (California Scholarship Federation) life member, will be attending UC San Diego. Taylor also received a scholarship from UCSD. Adam Aslin is currently weighing his options to either take a job offer in Hawaii or stay local and accept a part time job as an Electrician's apprentice and attend Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) in the fall. Edward Buenrostro is going to SRJC, as are Eduardo Calderon, Juan Garcia, Briga Mullin, Matthew Olson-Madsen and Stephen Smulan. Briga graduated Summa Cum Laude and plans to transfer to a 4-year university after she gets her associate degree. Sam Kallman will be going to Syracuse University to study architecture. Sam was Summa Cum Laude, a CSF lifetime member, and received a scholarship from Syracuse. Kash Kunde is going to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, in the Ag Business department. Evan MacLeod is going to the University of Colorado at Boulder to study engineering. He received three scholarships - from Chevron, the Kenwood Firemen's Association, and the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance. Jack Molitor will be going to Sonoma State. Elizabeth Peters, also a CSF lifetime member, is headed off to Washington University in St. Louis to study biology and anthropology.

Nathan Gale graduated from Summerfield Waldorf on June 13, and will be attending the California College of Art in San Francisco. He will be focusing on literature. Tanner Hiers graduated from Santa Rosa High School. He's working on getting a welding certificate through SRJC and taking a water treatment program at Sacramento State. Jackson Rosenfeld also graduated from Santa Rosa High in the Artquest program. He will be going to SRJC, and plans to transfer to a film school once his requirements are complete. Jackson also is cutting a CD with eight original songs that will be out in early fall, featuring various artists and local talent. John Kerwin graduated from Ridgeway High School and plans to go to Santa Barbara City College in August.

What a talented and diverse group of students! Congratulations to all of you, and please keep us posted as to your future achievements. Believe it or not, the older folks want to know! And if I missed anybody, please send in your news for the next issue.

Joe Monte, son of Wildwood Farm owners Sara and Ricardo Monte, graduated this spring with a 'green' MBA in sustainable management at Dominican University in San Rafael. He is also a LEED-AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-Accredited Professional). Joe completed his undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley in 2004. Congrats, Joe!

Marissa Rosenberg (an alum of Kenwood School and Maria Carrillo) received her Masters Degree in Space Science from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. Her parents, Gary and Rebecca, went to Strasbourg to see Marissa graduate and to throw a graduation party there for her classmates [it's amazing what Rebecca can organize long-distance.] They also did some sight-seeing in Epernay and Reims - champagne country! In September Marissa will be going to Leiden University in Holland for her Ph.D., researching the inner parts of galaxies, using Integral Field Spectroscopy. She received several offers from universities in the U.S. but chose Leiden because of their “trail blazing” study of the universe at a molecular level. Marissa graduated from UCLA in June, 2009, majoring in Astrophysics. As her father Gary quipped, “Personally, I don't understand how you study something at a molecular level that you can't touch and is mega-light years away, but, maybe that's why I'm not the astrophysicist.” All I can add is “Wow, congratulations, Marissa!”

The two auction parties for the Kenwood School were as fun and entertaining as billed. Julie Atwood's barn is truly a great venue for a party. And this year it was a good thing that the Sundance Lounge was in there because of that darn rain! Fortunately, the Sundance BBQ and Dance at Imagery Estate Winery two days later had perfect weather. Bidding at the auctions was fairly light - this is definitely not the good old days - but for the Fund-A-Need appeals for Literacy on Thursday night and Spanish on Saturday night the crowd donated over $20,000 combined. All told, the two events netted around $80,000 for Kenwood School. Thanks are due to so many people, but most of all to Kenwood Education Foundation outgoing president Karen Borgfeldt and to Dawn Benziger for co-chairing these important fundraising efforts.

We ran into Pat Matthews and Patti Paulson at the Sundance party and learned that they had been on a cruise through the Panama Canal this past February. Since no one has ever sent us a photo from the Panama Canal, we convinced them to send in theirs. They started their trip aboard the Seabourn Pride in Costa Rica (Puerto Caldera), and cruised from west to east, stopping in Honduras and Belize. They loved Costa Rica, which is what everyone says about that country. Thanks for the picture!

Speaking of pictures, we are running our Kenwood Press summer photo contest, Pictures with the Press, and that means it's time for you all to start carrying the paper with you everywhere you go. You never know when a great photo-op will arise. I can't tell you how many people, myself included, either forget to take the paper with them on vacation, or leave it in their hotel room while they're visiting some fantastic sight. Don't let this happen to you! Of course, several of our past winners did not go anywhere exotic; they were just really creative. The paper only has to be visible somewhere in the picture, so use your imagination. The deadline is August 20, 2010.

More accolades for SONOS, the hip a cappella group including Kenwood-ian Ben McLain. In the Contemporary A Cappella Society Awards, SONOS won the A Cappella Community Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Group, and the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award for Best Pop/Rock Song for “I Want You Back.” I'm telling you, these guys a good!

Tren Bender and Renee Bergeron had fun at the World Stunt Awards in Hollywood last month. The awards ceremony took place at Universal Studios, and Tren and her mother Jeannie Malahni were invited, as they are both stunt women. Winners were in movies like Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, and Fast and Furious.

Kenwood Community Church Pastor Andrew Metcalfe and his partner Max Mason participated in the AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride fundraiser from San Francisco to Los Angeles, June 6-12. It's a 545-mile trip. Riders camp in state parks and fairgrounds along the way, and hot meals and showers are provided each night. This is a very personal cause for Andrew and Max as they have lost 50 friends to HIV/AIDS over the years, and they are hoping for a cure before they turn 80. Amen to that!

Don't forget Open Mic at the Depot on June 17. Sign-ups start at 5:30, and the music runs from 6-10 p.m. Remember to bring some food and drink to share, and be generous with the tip jar!

That's all for now. Remember to send in your news for Village Chat (with or without pictures.) You can email me at ann@kenwoodpress.com, or call 833-5155 and chat me up! - A.Q.