Urban School of San Francisco

Together we celebrate the sounds of laughter, the sparkle of friendships, the comfort of family, and the joy that comes from learning and exploring. Virtual or in person, our Urban community shines bright with resilience, optimism and goodwill. We wish you and yours a peaceful and happy holiday season.

Starting soon: join us for the YouTube Premiere of the Winter Music Concert! Featuring performances by Chamber Orchestra, Urban Singers, and Lab and Advanced Jazz Bands, starting at 5 pm today: https://youtu.be/AgGBi8GoUGI

If you didn't have a chance to contribute to La Casa de las Madres yet, please do!

It's #GivingBluesday! Ring in the holiday season and celebrate Giving Tuesday: give a gift that will last a lifetime while supporting our Blues community. Visit urbanschool.org/makeagift to donate!

Students and faculty/staff shared what they are grateful for. We are so grateful to each and every one of you who are a part of our Urban community. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Urban's alumni community shined brightly this weekend! A special thank you to all the Blues who joined their Class Reunions this weekend!

Congratulations to Urban English teacher Amanda Moore, who has won the 2020 National Poetry Series Competition! Her debut collection of poetry, "Requeening," was selected for the 2020 National Poetry Series and is forthcoming from HarperCollins/Ecco in October 2021. We are so happy for you, Amanda!

Urban students participated this summer with youth across the country for the Stop AAPI Hate campaign, sponsored by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action and San Francisco State University's Asian American Studies Department (College of Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University). The students engaged in many different projects, including a social media campaign encouraging youth to report personal or witnessed incidents of discrimi...nation and interviewing fellow AAPI youth about their experiences with anti-Asian hate and violence during the pandemic. Urban students also created educational resources and co-wrote a policy report outlining how schools can take action to tackle racial bullying. Read the report and see both NBC News and the SF Examiner stories on Urban students and their work on this important project. https://stopaapihate.org//Stop-AAPI-Hate-Youth-Campaign-Re https://www.sfexaminer.com//asian-american-youth-report-a/ https://www.nbcnews.com//25-percent-asian-american-youths-

We’ve been thinking about and working toward re-opening since last spring. From our 4-10 hybrid plan, to re-organized classrooms, to additional technology, detailed safety plan and more, we’re working every day to create healthy and safe conditions for our students and faculty/staff for our future return. Urban was featured in this recent story about our planning efforts. https://www.sfexaminer.com//private-and-charter-schools-p/

Happening soon! Join us live at 4pm today to celebrate the Class of 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3xC79Zu-b0&feature=youtu.be

Catch today's encore performance of the Spring Music Concert tonight, Monday, June 8, 7 pm. Go here for the link: https://www.urbanschool.org/events

It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news of our dear teacher and colleague Dan Murphy, who passed away on Tuesday while biking in Marin. When he retired in November 2017, Dan had been at Urban for 50 years, teaching history and English, and as a dean and college counselor. Dan lived a purposeful life and with the greatest integrity and he passed away doing what he loved. Please read the letter to our alums from Alumni Ambassador LeRoy Votto. https://www.urbanschool.org/cf_enotify/view.cfm?n=4300

It's a difficult time in our world right now, but we invite you to join us at 6pm PT this evening, Friday, for Urban's Club Havana Fundraiser for Financial Aid. You will hear from alumni, faculty and students and together, we will celebrate all that is Urban. Your participation in tonight's Urban's Club Havana helps make our goal of providing access to an Urban education to as many students as possible a reality. We hope to "see" you this evening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRVywi42tmo

We are excited to (virtually!) welcome the Class of 2024 tomorrow! Hear from our Head of School Dan Miller, the Athletics dept, Admissions team and our stellar Student Admissions Committee members. Welcome, New Blues!

We are so grateful to our local postal workers, delivery persons, security personnel, healthcare workers, maintenance staff and all who ensure that every one of us in the Urban School community may continue to work, learn, eat, engage, stay healthy. We can never thank you all enough, but we have given it a try!

There's still time to vote for your Urban Blues! Congrats to Julietta S ('21), Mikayla W ('21) and Ian R ('20), who are nominated in the San Francisco High School Soccer Awards girls and boys Player of the Year categories. Girls Varsity Blues Soccer Coach Bobby Quinlan is nominated for Coach of the Year. Urban's Girls Varsity Soccer Team is finalist for Girls Team of the Year! Cast your votes here before midnight TONIGHT! ... https://www.sfglens.com/news_article/show/1101499 GO BLUES!

Thank you, Alums, for participating in Virtual Urban!

Urban alum Maggie Nelson ('90) was featured in the New Yorker for her piece, "Finding Moments of Calm During a Pandemic." Maggie writes about rereading Natalia Ginzburg’s Winter in Abruzzi during the coronavirus pandemic: Rather than weep for Ginzburg alone, I wept for us all. Read her moving article here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/13/the-new-calm

Listen in Friday, April 17, as our own jazz director and performing arts chair Scott Foster livestreams at 5:30 from Bird and Beckett bookstore. You can’t attend but you can listen in and donate to the Independent Musicians Alliance fund for musicians. Go to https://www.facebook.com/Bird-Beckett-Books-43013386843/ for the livestream and details and donation info here: https://birdbeckett.com/fundraiser-4-17-20-scott-foster-fo/