Stars: Life, Death and the Origin of Elements
Renowned Italian physicist Matteo Cantiello gave a thrilling First Thursday Breakfast Club presentation entitled “Stars: Life, death and the origin of elements” before an audience of Anacapa students, faculty and guests. His talk was aimed at breaking down the cosmic scale of the universe and relating it to our own existence and life on Earth.
During his talk, gasps could be heard from the audience as stunning visuals of our cosmic neighbors swirled on the screen … Read more
Law and Society: Participate In The World Around You
Ben Bycel, lawyer extraordinaire, visited Breakfast Club to introduce a new afternoon elective to Anacapa, “Law and Society.” Ben’s class will cover law in Santa Barbara, with hopes of drafting new local legislation. Ben hopes for active students eager to participate in the world around them.… Read more
Class of 2011 Alumni on Life Post-Anacapa
Three well-loved Anacapa alumni, Libby Tuomi, Joshua Figueroa and Alyssa Gregory, returned to share their experiences of life post-Anacapa. Libby and Joshua are both currently in their freshman year at Boise State and Lewis and Clark University respectively. Alyssa is preparing to start a program in Enology (wine making) at Fresno State, one of the top programs in the nation. Did they feel prepared for life after Anacapa? Of course! All three mentioned the personal and social skills they honed … Read more
Redemption, Inc.
Brian O’Dea, a television producer and Anacapa Dad, visited Breakfast Club to discuss Redemption, Inc., his new TV project in Canada. Brian opened up about his past in the world of drug dealing and his personal redemption, which led to his work on the TV show. The show, which aired in Canada this year, gives 10 former offenders a chance to start a business and turn their life around. His goal in making the show is to change the world’s … Read more
Everyday Etiquette
John Daly, an event planner and founder of the Key class on the etiquette of our everyday lives, spoke at Breakfast Club about what proper etiquette can bring Anacapa students. John teaches high school students about how to get and survive a job interview, dress professionally, fill out an application to best show off your skills, and dine in a semi formal environment. With these “soft skills,” John says students are better prepared to succeed in the professional world.… Read more
Echoes of Molokai e Luz de Esperanza
Dr. Tom Sichi, son of Gordon and Suzie, kicked off this year’s First Thursday Breakfast Club with an engaging discussion about the connections between poverty, infectious disease and their stigmas in developing nations. Tom worked for a month in Ecuador with people suffering from Hansen’s Disease (previously known as Leoprosy). He shared his experiences with outreach, treatment and recovery from Hansen’s, ultimately concluding that with proper treatment and education, victims of the disease could recover and integrate back into society. … Read more
Finding Your Passions
Helen Ma, an advocate for the organization Free the Children, visited Anacapa’s Elliot Hall to discuss the power of an individual with passion. Free the Children seeks to provide food, water, education and income to impoverished children around the world. It was started by a 12-year-old boy after reading an article about child slavery. It is now, after 16 years, an international organization that has built 650 schools and medical clinics in 45 different countries. Helen challenged Anacapa students and … Read more
Honoring our Veterans
Anacapa has a long history of honoring veterans. John Blakenship, Art Peterson and Johnathon Church, veterans from Vietnam, World War II and the Gulf War respectively, spoke to Anacapa students about their experiences in the war and what service has done for them. In return, the three heroes presented Anacapa with a donation in recognition of the school’s continued support of veterans.… Read more
Art 24/7: An Introduction to CalArts
Andrew Ahn, an admissions counselor at California Institute of the Arts, presented Anacapa students with information about CalArts’ many programs and degrees. The college, which was founded by Roy and Walt Disney, offers degrees in film, theater, graphic arts, music and dance. They have a 24-hour campus where students can work whenever and wherever they feel most creative. Students have even made art in the parking lots and bathrooms. To creative Anacapa students, CalArts is calling!… Read more
Caring for Critters at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network
Judy McGrath spends her free time caring for animals brought to the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Clinic in the Fairview Shopping Center. The clinic rescues approximately 3,000 birds and small mammals each year, with over one-half of rescues released back into the wild. Some common animals she sees in the shelter include opossums, skunks and owls. All these creatures are often seen as pests, but Judy reminded Anacapa students that they each pay a valuable role in our Santa Barbara … Read more
Making the News in Santa Barbara
Anacapa students heard the familiar voice of Santa Barbara’s news reporter John Palminteri at breakfast club this morning. John first met Anacapa students as they helped piece together the Moving Wall Vietnam Memorial. He gave the group some insight into a day in the life of a news reporter. Each day, he wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to record a news story from home for two radio stations, then goes to KEYT to work for 8-9 hours there. John says … Read more
Colin Helps With Free the Children
Colin Lancashire, a senior at Anacapa, has spent his free time during the past nine years volunteering with an organization called Free the Children. This summer, he traveled all the way to Kenya to do some, as he called it, “ground-zero work.” Colin and 20 other volunteers aged 13-18 spent their days working with hand tools to dig trenches for a new maternity ward for the medical center. They also toured the Free the Children compound, where they saw “Ellie’s … Read more
An Introduction to University of Chicago
For Anacapa students looking for a small, liberal arts university with a rigorous academic environment, an active student body and college-town feel, the University of Chicago may be just the thing. Assistant Director of Admissions, Andrea Mondragon-Fulcher, joined breakfast club this morning to share what the University of Chicago has to offer Anacapa students. Chicago students spend one-third of their time in a liberal arts core, one-third on their chosen academic major and one-third of their time on electives. This, … Read more
A Summer with NOLS: Lessons Learned in Outdoor School
Anacapa student, Alex Carlson, spent three months this past summer learning how to be a mountain man with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). During one month backpacking, one month mountaineering and one month sea kayaking in the wild frontiers of Alaska, Alex practiced specific wilderness skills, such as camp cooking, ice climbing and glacier safety. He also had time to take classes in land management, first aid and local ecology. Overall, Alex found the experience rewarding and exciting, but … Read more
The 7 Paths to Poverty: Learning How Not to Prosper
This Breakfast Club started with a story: the tale of a beggar who also smoked cigarettes. The moral of the story: that smoker could have saved $850,000 from his 20s to the time he was 60 by not smoking. Dr. Lance Mason, a dentist, and Gary Byrne, an economist, co-authored a book centered on this story with the idea that we each have enough money pass through our lives to live well. The question they ask is, where does it … Read more
Origin, Evolution, and the Fate of Our Universe
Professor Phillip Lubin spoke to a packed Elliott Hall about the awe-inspiring topic of our universe. Lubin, professor of Physics at UCSB and a member of the UCSB Cosmology group, researches questions such as, “was there time before the universe?” and “what conditions created time?” He explores topics like dark matter and dark energy, which he believes will ultimately bring an end to our universe. Ultimately, although Professor Lubin provided a wealth of knowledge to a captive audience, he emphasized … Read more
The Magical, Mystical, Watery World
Scott Simon, Marine Ecologist at UCSB, came to the Anacapa School to discuss hydrology, geology, ecology and of course, 80s Hair Bands. Scott challenged traditional definitions of science and encouraged students to see their personal role in science, or the study of “why things happen.” Scott reminded students and teachers of the uniqueness of Santa Barbara and its coastal environments. He encouraged an appreciation for change and the complexity of environmental systems, rather than one-sided fear. After many years of … Read more
Chocolate Around the World
This breakfast club discussed every girl’s favorite topic, chocolate. Maya Schoop Rutten, chocolate maker, businesswoman and mother of Anacapa student, Ila Rutten, visited to discuss chocolate throughout the world. Maya talked about chocolate production in places around the world, such as Africa, Venezuela, Cuba and Indonesia. She talked about the four varieties of cocoa bean and explained the many-step process of even preparing the beans for production. In the end, she stressed the importance of knowing your ingredients and where … Read more
The Road to Medical School
Former Anacapa Science Teacher, Ryan Biornstad, came back to visit and discuss the many personalities of the medical field. After seeing some surgeries in high school, Ryan decided that the medical world was the one for him. He claims there is a place for everyone. As for Ryan, he is hoping to take his adventurous spirit into emergency medicine and is currently applying for residencies around the U.S.
Student response: “When former Anacapa teacher, Ryan Biornstad, came in to talk … Read more
A Heart for Those Less Privileged
Santa Barbara is a beautiful place to live and grow up and we are all fortunate to live here. Gebre Medhin Beyene spoke about what it was like to grow up in Africa and the effects that his childhood had on his life. Gebre spoke about his upbringing and how the trials of early life “conditioned his life so he could have a heart for others.” Because of this desire to help others, Gebre started an orphanage with his wife … Read more
Understanding the Dream World
Jim Kwako, father of Anacapa student, Will Kwako, has always been interested in the science of dreams. He shared this obsession with Anacapa students in breakfast club, covering the process of dreaming and the ever-important question: “what did my dream mean?” Jim discussed dreams as a way to process life. When people dream, they associate images, feelings, ideas and piece together the scenes of life. Dreams help people clarify who they are, and as Jim stated, “The more we know … Read more
The Science of Cooking
Stephan Rapp, Professor of Culinary Arts at Santa Barbara City College, visited Breakfast Club to do what he loves most, to teach others about cooking. He spoke of cooking as nutrition made tasty, and more importantly, safe, through the chemical manipulation of food’s molecules. When asked how he keeps from cutting himself, Stephan replied, “I don’t! I do it occasionally to remind myself I am mortal.” He did however give some tips, such as thinking of the knife as an … Read more
Inside Thailand
Mac Bakewell visited Anacapa again this year to talk about a summer program that he runs in Thailand. The program, called “Inside Thailand,” immerses its participants in rural Thailand, as participants teach English classes. The group also visits national and cultural monuments, goes bike riding, feeds elephants and attends festivals in the Thailand villages. Mac’s own daughter has been attending the trips since she was four! The program recruits participants from all over the world, but always maintains a small … Read more
The Most Creative Political Ad Man in the Country
Anacapa started the New Year off with our first “First Thursday Open Breakfast Club” of 2011 with Fred Davis, who TIME magazine calls, “The most creative political ad man in the country.” Davis stressed that ads need to invoke an emotional reaction in order to be memorable and therefore, effective. Fred Davis is the Anacapa alum dad who created our COZY ad campaign. He uses few words and describes his language as “iconic” because in the overpopulated world of advertising, … Read more