Anneliese Journal

School Leaders Speak to Emotional Intelligence at B.A.N.K. Conference

Last week, our Head of School, Dr. Wendy Bana, and our Aliso Campus Director, Susan Dillon, were invited to speak at a conference. The conference was sponsored by B.A.N.K., a company founded by a fellow Anneliese parent. One conference goal was to introduce a new facet of the company, Make Kids Matter, to the constituents of B.A.N.K. One of the company’s underlying philosophies is the furtherance of emotional intelligence (EQ) in the world through understanding and honoring every person’s unique

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Fourth Grade Students Visit Bowers Museum

Our Fourth Grade students recently visited the Bowers Museum to learn about life on the ranches back in the days of early California settlers. They looked at how the land was divided and jobs they could have had back then, and how to make clothing with paint designs using insect pigment. They also learned how the missions affected this land ownership, spreading religion across California.

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Manzanita Students Study Birds in Gardening Class

At our Manzanita campus this week, students were able to observe bird behaviors through the lens of fine motor skills in a series of interactive stations. Gardening class with Ms. Sami involved studying various birds and how their different beaks serve a variety of purposes. The children were able to use many different tools to simulate the beaks of all types of birds and how they work.

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Handcrafts, Landforms Studies, Animal Observation & More: January Scenes from Willowbrook

Students at our Willowbrook Campus have jumped right back into the swing of their studies and other aspects of campus life following the winter break: including handcrafts, landforms studies, animal observation and more. The third graders worked on creating Native American ceremonial sticks in their handcrafts class with Ms. Elisabeth as part of their Native American culture studies this semester. Students in Ms. Joanna’s 2nd grade class presented 3D models to their parents to represent what they’ve learned in their

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Manzanita Students Beautify Garden

Students at our Manzanita campus recently worked with Ms. Sami, our gardening teacher, to create new garden spaces for growing and eco-literacy. Ms. Sami shares, “This is the end result of our garden beautification project at Manzanita. The garden includes a spiral herb and tea garden that the children helped plant, a native plant garden to attract amazing pollinators, and our food growing lab complete with three planter boxes to be filled with delicious veggies and herbs.” Part of the

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K1 Students Celebrate Diwali at Willowbrook

Willowbrook students in Ms. Sam’s K1 class recently celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights and a holiday celebrated in India. “Our class learned about Diwali from one of our students, Riya, and her mother, Nidhee,” Ms. Sam shares. “Diwali is an important way Riya and her family celebrate their Indian heritage. We enjoyed seeing photos of Riya and her family celebrating at home by cleaning their house, hanging up and turning on many lights, and even lighting sparklers! Riya

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4th Grade Classes Work Collaboratively in Groups to Research & Solve Problems

The 4th grade classes have been working on multiple group projects this semester, lending to creative collaboration, research, and problem-solving skills. Mr. Mike shares, “The 4th grade divided into 5 groups to make an environment mural: The Maldives; Borneo Rainforest; Australian Outback; Botswana Grasslands and Antarctica. They had to research animals, plants, birds and ‘water creatures’ that were endangered to draw and put on their mural. They researched adaptations and behaviors of endangered species and produced slides for the outside

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K1 Aliso Students Have Fun Scarf Dancing

Students in Ms. Shanon’s K1 class at Aliso had fun scarf dancing in class recently. The creative activity blended color and sensory exploration for the children. Ms. Shanon shares, “I hung scarves in various vibrant colors from the ceiling and invited the children to come explore. As they enjoyed weaving in and out of the scarves, they began to put the fabric on their faces and discovered they could see the world in different colors and shades. I then put

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Photos from Anneliese Schools Oktoberfest 2023

We had an amazing turnout for this year’s Oktoberfest at Anneliese Schools! This special tradition is a big fundraising event for our school, but it’s also a time when we look forward to building community and celebrating with our families and staff. Thank you for attending and making this year even better than the last. Photos ©️ Mark James

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Willowbrook Campus Welcomes Alex Parsons as Animal Care Specialist

We are thrilled to welcome Alex Parsons as our new Animal Care Specialist at our Willowbrook Campus. Alex will be carrying on in the footsteps of Janet O’Faolain, implementing the robust programming that Janet created for the school over the last several years. Here’s a little about Alex, in her own words: “Animals have always been a passion of mine since I was a young child. I first learned to ride at 6 years old, and went on to

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