Odyssey School

This article is about a school in San Mateo, California. For the school in Moncton, New Brunswick, see École L'Odyssée. For the school in North Bay, Ontario, see École publique l'Odyssée.
Odyssey School
Location
San Mateo, California
United States
Information
Type Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s) none
Established 1998
Head of school Stephen P. Lane
Faculty 6 full-time; 4 part-time
Enrollment 46 students
Classes 13 to 18 students
Campus Suburban, 3.5 acres (0.7 km²)
Website www.odysseyms.org

Odyssey School is a private middle school in San Mateo, California, a town about 15 miles (24 km) south of San Francisco. Odyssey caters to gifted and talented students in grades 6 through 8.[1] Its five academic core subjects consist of writing, mathematics, science, humanities, and Japanese. Offerings in creative arts include drama, choir, music history, pottery, set design, costume design, and photography. The school also teaches swimming, dance, karate, and stage combat[2] under its movement program.[3]

Odyssey's theater program includes an annual visit to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, where students see and study a cross-section of Shakespeare's plays. The school's Japanese program includes hosting Japanese exchange students each autumn,[4] followed by a three week trip to Japan at the end of eighth grade, in which students stay at temples and Japanese homes.[5]

Odyssey students have won a variety of prizes in outside academic competitions in recent years. These include a first place in Notre Dame High School's 2009 Middle Math Contest (out of 190 contestants),[6] and a first place in the 2008 Japanese speech contest of the Japanese Consulate General.[7] Odyssey's programs for helping students cope with stress have attracted regional attention.[8]

Many Odyssey graduates attend college-preparatory schools such as San Francisco University High School, Woodside Priory School, Crystal Springs Uplands School, and Menlo School. Others go on to local public high schools. Odyssey graduates later continue their studies at four-year colleges and universities such as UC-Berkeley, Cornell, Occidental, Reed, and Carnegie Mellon.[9][10]

Odyssey was founded in 1998.[11]

Odyssey's founding Head of School, Stephen K. Smuin, has been a teacher and school administrator for more than 30 years. He previously was head of the middle school at The Nueva School, a private elementary and middle school in Hillsborough, California.[12] He is the author of three books on writing technique, including "More than Metaphors: Strategies for Teaching Process Writing.".[13] He retired in June 2010.

In July 2010, Daniel Popplewell joined Odyssey as its new Head of School.[14] He previously was dean of teaching and learning at Bentley School in Lafayette, California. He was succeeded in July 2013 by Stephen P. Lane, who previously was head of Santa Barbara Middle School.

References

  1. ↑ Lussier, Ellen S. (2001). Private Schools of the San Francisco Peninsula & Silicon Valley (elementary and middle). Pince-Nez Press. ISBN 0-9648757-6-4.
  2. ↑ Lane, Richard J. (2005). Swashbuckling: a step-by-step guide to the art of stage combat. Amadeus Press/Limelight Editions. ISBN 0-87910-091-5.
  3. ↑ http://odysseyms.org/within4walls.html
  4. ↑ T.S. Mills-Faraudo (7 October 2005). "East Meets West at San Mateo School". Oakland Tribune.
  5. ↑ http://odysseyms.org/outside4walls.html
  6. ↑ "Class Notes". San Mateo (Calif.) Daily Journal. May 23, 2009.
  7. ↑ http://www.sf.us.emb-japan.go.jp/archives/PR_e/2008/pr_08_0309.htm
  8. ↑ Julie N. Lynem (October 13, 2011). "Education for the Soul". San Francisco Chronicle.
  9. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2207356563
  10. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=236278641446
  11. ↑ Jane Northrop (16 November 2005). "Odyssey School students experience exchange of culture and knowledge with Japanese counterparts". Pacifica (Calif.) Tribune.
  12. ↑ Deutschman, Alan (2000). The Second Coming of Steve Jobs. New York: Broadway. pp. 259–260. ISBN 978-0-7679-0432-2.
  13. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Metaphors-Strategies-Teaching/dp/0201455013
  14. ↑ "Class Notes". San Mateo (California) Daily Journal. July 10, 2010.

External links