The private school admission season is in full swing around San Diego, and many schools have scheduled events for prospective families during January 2010. These events give families the opportunity to learn more about a school’s program, meet administrators, teachers and current parents, and get a feel for the campus and facilities.

Now is the time to RSVP for events coming up in January 2010. Be aware that some area private schools have completed their Open Houses for the current admission season. In addition, some private schools prefer to invite prospective families to visit their campuses for private tours rather than hosting large-scale events.

Below is a list of events from a sampling of private schools in and around San Diego. These dates were taken from the schools’ websites, so please check with the schools to confirm date and time, and to RSVP if appropriate. Also, please realize that this is by no means an exhaustive list of San Diego private schools. If you are interested in a school that you don’t see listed here, call or email the school to find out if you can schedule a private tour or if they have any upcoming events for you to attend.

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  The Bishop's School

  The Bishop’s School
  http://www.bishops.com/
  January 15, 2010, 9:00-10:00am
  Admission Information Coffee
  

• Francis Parker School
  http://www.francisparker.org/
  January 7, 2010
  Shadow Day for Sixth through Eighth grade applicants
  January 7, 2010
  Neighborhood coffee in Mission Hills
  January 12, 2010, 3:30-5:30pm
  Middle School Open House, Sixth through Eighth Grade
  January 19, 2010, 3:30-5:30pm
  Upper School Open House, Ninth through Twelfth Grade
  January 26, 2010
  Shadow Day for Ninth through Twelfth grade applicants
  January 27, 2010, 3:15-5:30 pm
  Lower School Open House, JK through Fifth Grade
  January 28, 2010
  Neighborhood coffee in Rancho Santa Fe

• La Jolla Country Day School
  http://www.ljcds.org/
  January 14, 2010, 6:30-8:30pm
  Middle and Upper School Open House, Fifth through Twelfth Grade
  January 19, 2010, 8:15-10:15am
  Lower School Open House, Kindergarten through Fourth Grade

• Pacific Ridge School
  http://www.pacificridge.org/
  January 9, 2010, 2:00pm
  Middle School Open House, Seventh and Eighth Grade
  January 14, 2010, 1:00pm
  Upper School Open House, Ninth through Twelfth Grade
  January 25, 2010
  Applicant Visit Day

• Sanderling Waldorf School
  http://www.sanderlingschool.org/
  January 13, 2010, 3:30pm
  Parent-Education Open House
  January 19, 2010, 9:00am
  Classroom Observation Day

• San Diego Jewish Academy
  January 19, 2010, 7:00-8:30pm
  http:// www.sdja.com/
  Maimonides Upper School Science and Math Exploration, Sixth through Twelfth Grade

• Santa Fe Christian Schools
  http://www.sfcs.net/
  January 13, 2010, 10:00am-12:00pm
  Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade Open House

• Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School
  http://www.hebrewday.org/
  January 7, 2010, 10:15-11:15am
  Kindergarten and First Grade Sneak Peek

• Stella Maris Academy
  http://www.stellamarisacademy.org/
  January 31, 2010, 10:00am-1:00pm
  Kindergarten through Eighth Grade Open House

• Warren-Walker School
  http://www.warren-walker.com/
  January 13, 2010, 4:00-5:30pm
  Point Loma Campus Open House, PK – Fifth Grade
  January 14, 2010, 4:00-5:30pm
  La Mesa Campus Open House, PK – Fifth Grade
  January 21, 2010, 4:00-5:30pm
  Middle School Campus Open House, Sixth through Eighth Grade
  

From January through the first part of February is prime time for taking the ISEE since a lot of schools have application deadlines around the middle of February. Check with the school(s) to which you are applying to find out what the best dates are for your child to take the ISEE so that you don’t miss the application deadline.

Select schools around the San Diego area cooperate to administer ISEE testing on their campuses. Upcoming test dates and locations include:

For additional test dates and locations, and to register online to take the ISEE test, visit the ERB ISEE web site.

Mare has built a memorable twenty-year career as an early childhood educator, spending ten years at The Children’s School in La Jolla and currently serving as the director of Aspirations School of Learning, an infant through kindergarten school in Carlsbad, CA. She has achieved many career milestones and accolades that include becoming a mentor teacher with the state of California, achieving clear credential certification, earning a specialization in the Reggio Emilia approach, being selected as a study group member to visit schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and currently serving as a member of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance. One of Mare’s greatest joys as a teacher has been participating in the development of an art program for preschoolers, The Great Artists.

Mare completed her education in early childhood at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California, earning both an undergraduate degree as well as a Master of Arts degree in human development with a specialization in leadership in education. Her leadership at Aspirations is based upon her desire to create a special place where children and their families can grow, bond, learn and aspire together, and where children are nurtured, intellectually stimulated and encouraged to use their imagination. As they say in Reggio, “Nothing but joy.”

For Mare Williams, creating a footprint worth remembering has always been her ardent philosophy for life. Finding joy and passion in her work, both personally and professionally, has helped to create the foundation with which she has followed her dreams. We at An Educated Choice look forward to learning from Mare as she shares her expertise in early childhood education. Watch for Mare’s posts beginning in January 2010.

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO₂ emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Three local schools – Francis Parker School, La Jolla Country Day School, and Pacific Ridge School – have recently completed or are in the process of completing construction projects that follow green building strategies.

The new middle/upper school library at Francis Parker School.

Francis Parker School in San Diego

Since 2001, Francis Parker School has completed renovation and construction projects on both its lower school campus and, most recently, its middle/upper school campus. The completion of the middler/upper school project coincided with the first day of the 2009-10 school year, and received a 2009 CAE (Committee on Architecture) Educational Facility Design Award from the American Institute of Architects. The new buildings are not LEED certified, but they do make use of environmentally-friendly features such as thick (7 to 9 inches of concrete) walls, large windows, overhangs and sunshades, the use of recycled materials, and drought-resistant landscaping.

Read more about the Francis Parker School building project.

The new kindergarten building at La Jolla Country Day School.

La Jolla Country Day School in La Jolla

For the 2009-10 school year, La Jolla Country Day School opened their new kindergarten facility, an 8,500 square foot Gold LEED certified building. The four-classroom building makes use of ambient light from sky lights and sheltered windows, incorporates an outdoor drought-tolerant garden, and limits energy use.

Read more about the La Jolla Country Day building project.

Rendering of the new Upper School at Pacific Ridge.

Pacific Ridge in Carlsbad

Pacific Ridge School, an independent college-prep school in Carlsbad for grades 7-12, expects their new 32,500-square-foot Upper School building to win Gold LEED certification. According to the Pacific Ridge website, the new building is scheduled to open in Fall 2010. Some of the green features will include onsite solar power, recycled construction materials, natural lighting for 90% of classroom space, passive ventilation for nearly 50% of classroom space, and reduction of landscape irrigation by 50%.

Read more about the Pacific Ridge Upper School building project.

If you are seriously considering a private school for your child for the 2010-11 school year, now is the time to start visiting prospective schools. An easy way to check out schools is by attending an Open House. To help you out, I’ve pulled together the list below of Open House dates for November 2009 for a sampling of private schools in the San Diego area. These dates were taken from the schools’ websites, so please check with the schools that you would like to visit to confirm date and time, and to RSVP if appropriate.

• The Gillispie School
  November 3, 2009, 8:30-10:30am
  Early Childhood through Sixth Grade Open House
  7380 Girard Ave., La Jolla, CA 93047
  http://www.gillispie.org/

• Santa Fe Christian Schools
  November 4, 2009, 10:00am-12:00pm
  Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade Open House
  838 Academy Dr., Solana Beach, CA 92075
  http://www.sfcs.net/

• Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School
  November 4, 2009, 12:15-1:15pm
  Kindergarten and First Grade Sneak Peek
  3630 Afton Rd., San Diego, CA 92123
  http://www.hebrewday.org/

• The Bishop’s School
  November 9, 2009, 9:00-10:00am
  Sixth through Twelfth Grade Information Coffee
  7607 La Jolla Boulevard, La Jolla, CA 92037
  http://www.bishops.com/

• Sanderling Waldorf School
  November 10, 2009, 9:00am
  Parent-Child through Fifth Grade Classroom Observation Day
  1578 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024
  http://www.sanderlingschool.org/

• Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School
  November 10, 2009, 7:30pm
  Preschool and Day School Living Room Chat
  Private home in East County, Del Cerro
  http://www.hebrewday.org/

• San Diego French American School
  November 11, 2009, 9:00am
  Kindergarten through Eighth Grade Open House
  6550 Soledad Mountain Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037
  http://www.sdfrenchschool.org/

• Francis Parker School
  November 11, 2009, 3:15-5:30pm
  Lower School Open House, Jr. Kindergarten through Fifth Grade
  4201 Randolph St., San Diego, CA 92103
  http://www.francisparker.org/

• The Children’s School
  November 12, 2009, 9:00am
  Toddler through Fifth Grade Open House
  2225 Torrey Pines Lane, La Jolla, CA 92037
  http://www.tcslj.org/

• Francis Parker School
  November 12, 2009, 3:30-5:30pm
  Upper School Open House, Ninth through Twelfth Grade
  6501 Linda Vista Rd., San Diego, CA 92111
  http://www.francisparker.org/

• Warren-Walker School
  November 14, 2009, 9:00-10:00am
  Middle School Open House, Sixth through Eighth Grade
  2231 Camino Del Rio South, San Diego, CA 92108
  http://www.warren-walker.com/

• The Bishop’s School
  November 14, 2009, 10:00-1:00pm
  Sixth through Twelfth Grade Open House
  7607 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla, CA 92037
  http://www.bishops.com/

• Pacific Ridge School
  November 14, 2009, 2:00pm
  Middle School Open House, Seventh and Eighth Grade
  6269 El Fuerte St., Carlsbad, CA 92009
  http://www.pacificridge.org/

• Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School
  November 17, 2009, 10:00-11:00am
  Kindergarten and First Grade Sneak Peek
  3630 Afton Rd., San Diego, CA 92123
  http://www.hebrewday.org/

• Francis Parker School
  November 17, 2009, 3:30-5:30pm
  Middle School Open House, Sixth through Eighth Grade
  6501 Linda Vista Rd., San Diego, CA 92111
  http://www.francisparker.org/

• La Jolla Country Day School
  November 17, 2009, 6:30-8:10pm
  Middle and Upper School Open House, Fifth through Twelfth Grade
  9490 Genesee Ave., La Jolla, CA 92037
  http://www.ljcds.org/

• Sanderling Waldorf School
  November 18, 2009, 9:00am
  Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Open House
  1578 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024
  http://www.sanderlingschool.org/

• Warren-Walker School
  November 18, 2009, 4:00-5:30pm
  Prekindergarten through Fifth Grade Open House
  Point Loma Campus, 4605 Point Loma Ave., San Diego, CA 92107
  http://www.warren-walker.com/

• The Rhoades School
  November 21, 2009, 10:00am
  Kindergarten through Eighth Grade Open House
  141 S. Rancho Santa Fe Rd., Encinitas, CA 92024
  http://www.rhoadesschool.com/

• Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School
  November 23, 2009, 7:30pm
  Preschool and Day School Living Room Chat
  Private home in North County, Carmel Valley
  http://www.hebrewday.org/

• Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School
  November 30, 2009, 9:30am
  Preschool Open House
  3630 Afton Rd., San Diego, CA 92123
  http://www.hebrewday.org/

Please realize that this is by no means an exhaustive list of San Diego private schools, and that not all private schools host Open Houses. If you are interested in a school that you don’t see listed here, do an Internet search and visit their website – or give them a call – to find out more about them and their Open House events.