Beginning-of-the-Year Trip: Zion National Park
September 15-19, 2013
Chaperones: Gordon and Suzie Sichi, Bryan Anderson, Paula Campanelli, Levi Maaia, Hugo Macario, Megan Nesland, and Grayson Baggiolini (Class of 2012)
Sunday, September 15
Destination: Zion National Park
Students arrived on campus at 5:00 AM, roll was taken, and the two Santa Barbara Airbuses loaded with personal items, camping gear, food, and ice chests. We departed promptly at 6:00 AM for the approximately 10-hour ride from California, through Nevada, to Utah’s Zion National Park. … Read more
Surfing Legend Shaun Tomson Releases Inspiring New Book “The Code”
Tomson’s new book was inspired by the students at Anacapa School
July 8, 2013 — Santa Barbara, Calif.
World champion surfer and best-selling author Shaun Tomson releases The Code (buy a copy), a simple strategy for confronting everyday challenges and making positive, life-changing decisions. In 12 personal stories Shaun shares the power of “I Will”—a code that has carried him to the heights of professional success and helped him navigate the depths of profound grief after the loss … Read more
Update: Anacapa’s International Space Station Contact Is a Success
On May 22, 2013, Anacapa School students had a chance to speak with NASA Astronaut and former Navy SEAL Christopher J. Cassidy via a live Amateur Radio link to the International Space Station (ISS) (Astronaut Chris Cassidy’s NASA Bio). The 10-minute Q&A session went off without a hitch at the hilltop campus of QAD, Inc. Video of the event was streamed live … Read more
Anacapa’s Performance of “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” Is a Hit
Anacapa School’s students perfomed “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” on May 17, 18 and 19 before packed audiences at the school’s downtown campus. The students transformed their classrooms into an undersea paradise for the classic tale.
“You all should be very proud of yourselves,” said John Luca, an Anacapa math teacher addressing the cast and crew. “You and Salli put on a fantastic show in here in this room,” he remarked, speaking of Salli Eve, the school’s performing arts teacher.
“Disney’s … Read more
March Special – Montecito Peak
March Special is an Anacapa, long-time tradition of taking a day off from classes and doing something together while the auction clean-up is happening on campus. This year’s March Special was an all-school hike up to Montecito Peak! The first group hit the summit just before noon. Once all six groups reached the top we snapped a fantastic group photo and enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch before returning… Read more
Born in the USA is a Show-Stopper
Anacapa’s Grassroots performance troupe joined forces in January with the Ensemble Music band for a two-night performance of “Born in the USA: A History of American Music” at Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara. Anacapa’s talented students took a look at American Music through the years with music by Stephen Foster, Scott Joplin, the big band era, Elvis, Motown, disco and more!… Read more
Anacapa’s All-Star Athletes
Islanders excel in numerous sports. From mountain biking to Parkour and swimming to soccer, Anacapa athletes are a hard-working, competitive bunch in both school and community sports programs. Meet some of Anacapa’s All-Star Athletes.
| Ryan Reish, Class of 2014, does desert racing for District 37 once a month. He has earned 2nd and 3rd for his class, and aspires to race like Kurt Carrelli and Kendal Norman.“The rush and adrenaline spike is the greatest feeling ever, but it’s |
Anacapa Boys Basketball Takes on Garden Street
The newly formed Anacapa boy’s basketball team traveled to Goleta to play Garden Street Academy on November 30. The pace was slow in the first quarter and the game was tied heading into the second. However, the Islanders took control of the game to end the half and would keep the success going as they took home the victory 36-30.
Allen Zhang, a junior, played point guard and had a game high 14 points. Sophomore Clayton Parker, … Read more
Islanders Take On Garden Street Academy
The Anacapa Islanders coed soccer team traveled to Garden Street Academy on November 12 for a matchup ending 7-1 in Anacapa’s favor.
“The kids played really well and worked hard,” said Coach Hugo Macario.
Islander August Baxis, a seventh grader, scored three points with senior Esai Macario and freshman Bronson Whitney each netting two goals. Junior Allen Zhang seemed to be in the right place at the right time for much of the game handing off four … Read more
2012 Family Math Fair
Anacapa’s math teachers Bryan Anderson and John Luca came together on November 19 to host the 2012 Annual Anacapa Family Math Fair. The Math Fair is s a fun and energetic evening when families can collaborate to solve a range of math problems.
At the fair, there are a dozen challenging problems varying in levels from age five to graduate level work. When participants get problems correct or spend quite a bit of time on the problem, … Read more
Anacapa to Host Live Q&A with the International Space Station
Student space exploration group works with S.B. Amateur Radio Club to connect to astronauts
October 4, 2012 — Santa Barbara, Calif.
Students and faculty of Anacapa School are preparing for a rare event that will allow them to make contact with an astronaut currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) via amateur radio as part of the independent school’s annual Synthesis Unit. Anacapa has the opportunity to participate in the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, a … Read more
Beginning-of-the-Year Trip: The Eastern Sierra
Chaperones: Gordon and Suzie Sichi, Bryan Anderson, Hugo Macario, Megan Nesland, John Luca, and Connor Proctor (Class of 2011).
The Senior Class and Faculty organized the menus and helped purchase the food. Everyone is to be commended for working in teams to prepare, cook, and clean up for all of the breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Every student participated, including preparation and cleanup. A job well done!
Monday, September 10, 2012, Trip Preparation Day
Students spent all day … Read more
Anacapa Italy 2012 Tour
Facebook photo gallery
Download PDF of text
Chaperones: Gordon and Suzie Sichi
Participants: Patrick Alcero, Grayson Baggiolini, Julio Bernal, Alex Carlson, Hannah Erickson, Nichole Francia, Zinnia Gonzalez, Genevieve Hatfield, Alicia Kovary, Chris Lancashire, Colin Lancashire, Esai Macario, Isaac Macario, Molly Snyder, Douglas Throop, Kiara Trujillo
Thursday/Friday, July 5-6, Santa Barbara to Rome
Months of preparations included Gordon and Suzie’s extensive planning, (mostly Gordon!), and research by each student about someplace on the itinerary which they shared orally to the group … Read more
Anacapa’s Near Space Probe Soars 111,814 Feet Over California
Student-built, homebrew weather balloon probe returned live video and data during three-hour flight
Ground Crew Photos | In-Flight Photos | In-Flight Video
KEYT 3 TV News Story | AR Newsline Radio Story | Technical Overview Video (Amateur Radio Presentation)
May 7, 2012 — Santa Barbara, Calif.
Members of the Anacapa Near Space Exploration Club (ANSEC) at Anacapa School are celebrating the weekend success of their second near space probe Anacapa Amateur High-Altitude Balloon 2 (AAHAB-2). The high school team launched … Read more
Lessons for Riding Through Life
Champion surfer Shaun Tomson was on hand for April’s First Thursday Open Breakfast Club to share his powerful message of courage and perseverance with Anacapa. His powerful and enlightening presentation focused on the influence of positive values on success in life, based on his own experiences of overcoming challenges both in and out of the ocean.
Shaun is the best-selling author of “Surfer’s Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding through Life” and award-winning documentary filmmaker of “Bustin’ Down the Door.”… Read more
Anacapa School Science Teacher Awarded Stanford Fellowship
Megan Nesland will study effects of climate change
March 20, 2012 — Santa Barbara, Calif.
Megan Nesland, a science teacher at Anacapa School, was recently awarded the 2012 Stanford University Climate Education Fellowship, in connection with the Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education program (IISME). The fellowship, awarded to one teacher each year, aims to connect science education to current science research and encourage the development of meaningful and relevant science curriculum.
Nesland, a graduate of Stanford’s undergraduate and … Read more
An Anacapa Day
As a follow-up to our recent Synthesis Unit, Food: You are What You Eat, Anacapa left after morning classes on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, to visit the renowned Roots Organic Farm in Los Olivos. For Nutrition Break that morning, the school provided everyone with a big bowl of Jacob Grant’s famously sweet carrots, which had been purchased the day before from the Roots stand at the Tuesday Farmers Market. The carrots were gobbled up in no time!… Read more
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
Patrick Alcerro Chosen as an SBIFF Filmmaking Finalist
Anacapa School junior Patrick Alcerro has been recognized for the second consecutive year as a finalist in the 2012 Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s (SBIFF) 10-10-10 Student Filmmaking Competition! The 10-10-10 competition is a student filmmaking competition developed to bring together student filmmakers and industry professionals in an effort to encourage and assist a new generation of filmmakers. Students produce 10 films over a period of 10 days and are judged on both filmmaking and screenwriting criteria.
Later this month, … Read more
Families Enjoy the Anacapa Math Fair
The 18th Annual Anacapa Math Fair on November 21 included some reasonably easy and some challenging problems, some very welcome special guests, and fantastic prizes. A great group of students, parents, teachers, siblings and friends joined in the evening’s celebration of the sometimes overlooked quality of fun and play that can be found in math.
A problem involving a Morse code puzzle seemed to be the one that many people would not give up on, but … Read more
Anacapa Seniors are ‘Best Speakers’ at Regional Debates
Anacapa Seniors Douglas Throop and Gazal Homayouni took home Best Speaker Gavel awards at the Junior State of America’s Fall State debate conference on November 13, 2011 in Los Angeles. The school sent a delegation of 14 students to the conference this year. The mission of the Junior State of America and the Junior Statesmen Foundation (JSA) is to strengthen American democracy by educating and preparing high school students for life-long involvement and responsible leadership in a democratic society. Anacapa … Read more
Anacapa School Celebrates 30 Years With 30 Service Projects
November 9, 2011 — Santa Barbara, Calif.
Students at Anacapa School are giving back to their community not just once, but 30 times! Anacapa students have committed to complete 30 community service projects to celebrate the downtown independent school’s 30th school year. So far, the junior high and high school students have, among other efforts, helped paint the Presidio, participated in the assembly of “The Moving Wall” honoring Vietnam War veterans … Read more
Anacapa Helps Assemble ‘The Moving Wall’ Vietnam Memorial
KEYT interview with Anacapa senior Douglas Throop
Facebook photo album
Since “The Moving Wall” first came to Santa Barbara in 1985, Anacapa students have visited it every time it has been to Santa Barbara to hear from local Vietnam vets and see the outstanding replica of the powerful Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. This time we had the unique opportunity to help assemble the Wall, polish it, and put up 12 flags representing the 12 nations who were allied … Read more
Anacapa School Summits Clouds Rest
High school tackles rocky summit nearly 10,000 feet above Yosemite
SEPTEMBER 27, 2011 — SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.
The school year is in full swing at Anacapa School’s downtown campus, but the students are still floating from their shared victory high above the wilderness of Yosemite National Park. Soon after daybreak on September 14, the students and faculty from the small independent school packed their daypacks and started on the strenuous 15-mile round-trip hike up 2,000 feet of elevation to the … Read more