Pacifica Stories

Summer Faculty Development: Katie Savage and Hilary Miller's Summer Writing Retreat

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

One of the best things about working in a school like Pacifica is our teachers' love for learning, which encompasses their students' learning as well as their own. It's second nature for them to find ways to learn more about their subject and to hone their craft of teaching, and for two members of our English department, that curiosity carried straight into summer break.

Katie Savage, Chair of the English Department, and Hilary Miller, Director of Faculty and Academics, didn't sign up for a conference or a workshop this summer. Instead, they built their own: a self-designed writers retreat, carved out of a season most people spend simply catching their breath.

Katie has taught for more than fifteen years, eight of them at Pacifica. Hilary has taught for ten—four at a public high school in Indiana, six at Pacifica—two schools that, she says, "despite being very different on their face," both had "a tight-knit community that I've adored."

Writing is a shared passion for both of them, something they pursue outside the classroom as much as inside it. They're currently working on a narrative together, and the retreat became a chance to sharpen that project alongside their own craft. "Writing fulfills me creatively, which in turn makes me a better teacher," Hilary said. Katie described it similarly: a way "to hone our skills, remind us of why we love it, and also offer a creative outlet that would rejuvenate us."

What they came back with wasn't just pages. It was a renewed sense of what their students go through every time they're handed a writing assignment. "We are so often assigning writing to students, and it's easy to forget the struggle that comes with it," Katie said. Sitting with a blank page themselves reminded them how to talk students through writer's block and a rough first draft, not as something to fix quickly, but as part of the process every writer works through.

Even the retreat's structure taught them something. They found themselves reaching for unconventional materials like different-sized post-its and index cards that Katie is already planning to bring into her classroom. And in the quiet stretches between writing, conversation kept circling back to teaching itself, and to Pacifica's core values, and how easy it would be, without real intention, to drift from them. "This can't just be an institutional practice; it must be an individual one," Hilary said. "Retreats like this are opportunities to remind and encourage each other in the good work of teaching students to think and live well."

Maybe the most lasting lesson was the simplest one. "Teaching can easily become a vacuum," Hilary said. "Like so many endeavors that require vulnerability, once you begin sharing your fears and mistakes, you find that you're not the only one to have them." For any teacher weighing their own summer plans, her advice is direct: find what fills your cup, and don't treat it as optional. "Because so much of teaching is pouring out your cup, it's imperative that those soul-lifting practices are made a priority... sometimes choosing those things over the to-do list actually makes you a much better teacher."

From College Lecture Hall to AP Classroom: Isa Uggetti Erazo's Summer Institute

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

At Pacifica, our teachers' curiosity about their subject doesn't take the summer off. It's second nature for them to keep learning and honing their craft, even between school years. For new English faculty member Isa Uggetti Erazo, that meant attending the AP Summer Institute, a College Board-run training for teachers of AP courses, ahead of his first year teaching AP Language and Composition.

Isa joins the Pacifica English Department this year while working on his doctorate in English at USC, where he has also taught for three years. But college freshmen and high school students, it turns out, are not the same audience—a distinction the Summer Institute made clear almost immediately.

"I was eager to attend... to understand how best to prepare students for the AP test during the year, as well as to discuss different approaches to the class with other experienced teachers," he said of his reasons for going. He left with far more than that: a clear sense of what the entire year of AP Language should look like, from the major units and readings down to how assessments should be structured. While he continues to shape individual lessons alongside Pacifica's English faculty, that overall roadmap came largely from the Institute.

The bigger surprise was how different high school composition would be from what he'd taught before. "Before participating in the Summer Institute, I was ready to approach AP Language like an undergraduate course," he said, "but once the seminar began, I quickly gathered from the discussions with other teachers that teaching high school composition would be quite different." Conversations with veteran high school teachers handed him a wealth of resources he didn't know he'd need—readings, lesson plans, even games—that he's already found immensely effective in the classroom this year.

What stayed with him most, though, was the room itself. Many of the teachers attending had been to the Institute multiple times, not because their schools required it, but because they were still chasing ways to improve. "Seeing all these experienced teachers so intent on improving their craft," he said, "I was inspired to keep pursuing more opportunities for professional development myself."

Flying Seawolves Take Off: Pacifica Hosts the 4th Annual Drone Tournament

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

On Saturday, October 17, Pacifica’s campus became a flight arena. Our 4th annual “Pacifica@Santa Monica Bay” drone tournament opened the competition season for the entire West Region, bringing seven high school teams from three schools together for a full day of piloting, problem solving, and friendly rivalry.

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Pacifica entered four teams of its own, the Flying Seawolves 1, 2, 3, and 4. They competed alongside two Navy Junior ROTC teams from Troy High School and one team from El Camino Real High School, the Pengwings. It’s a long way from the club’s start. Pacifica’s Aerial Drone Competition Club launched in 2023 and hosted the first drone tournament for the Westside of Los Angeles. Four years in, the event has grown into a regional season opener.

Each tournament awards seven honors. Three are the top awards, and those winners may qualify for an invitation to the West Regional Championship in spring 2027. This year’s results were:

All-Around Champion: Troy A
Teamwork Mission Champions: Pengwings and Troy A
Solo Mission Champion: Flying Seawolves 2
Communications Award: Troy H
Coding Award: Flying Seawolves 2
Airmanship Award: Flying Seawolves 1
Judges Award: Pengwings

Two of the awards, the Teamwork and Solo Mission Championships, are decided purely by performance on the field. The other five are chosen by a panel of judges, and each team can earn only one judged award per tournament. That makes a strong showing from the Flying Seawolves worth celebrating. Flying Seawolves 2 swept the Solo Mission Championship and the Coding Award, and Flying Seawolves 1 took home the Airmanship Award for its flying.

A tournament like this takes far more than pilots and drones. It runs on the generosity of our parent community. Susan Doolittle and Sandy King led the effort as lead drone parents and helped pull the whole event together, with Susan also serving as emcee. Steph Der and Michelle Orso ran the concession stand. Dennis King served as Head Referee with three assistant referees, and Brandon Lee served as Judge Advisor alongside three assistant judges. Mat Mulligan handled the projector and monitor displays. We are grateful to each of them for giving our students, and teams from across the region, such a well-run day of competition.

Congratulations to every team that competed, and to Troy High School and El Camino Real High School for making the trip to join us. We can’t wait to see where the season takes our Flying Seawolves next.

Seawolves Rising: A Fall of Championships, Determination, and Memorable Finishes

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

There is much to celebrate in Seawolf Athletics this fall. Across our teams, students are learning to compete with courage, support their teammates, and keep working when the outcome is uncertain.

Girls Volleyball Captures Its 14th Liberty League Championship and Heads to CIF Playoffs

Congratulations to our girls volleyball team on winning its 14th Liberty League championship! This milestone continues a proud tradition of excellence and reflects the preparation, teamwork, and commitment our players and coaches bring to the court. The team has carried that momentum straight into the postseason, securing a spot in the CIF Division 5 playoffs (out of 11 divisions) with an overall record of 19-5. They’ll face St. Anthony (Long Beach) on Wednesday, October 21. A win sends them back onto the court Saturday night.

Boys Flag Football Wins the Liberty League Championship and Earns the #1 Seed

Congratulations to our boys flag football team on becoming Liberty League champions! A season of determination and teamwork included a memorable pick-six to snatch victory; a reminder of how quickly a game can change and why every play matters. That success has carried into the playoffs, where the team has secured the #1 seed in only its second year of the program’s existence. They’ll play their semifinal matchup on Thursday, October 22.

Teal Greene Sets the Pace

Senior Teal Greene continues to distinguish himself among CIF’s top runners. His September performances included a personal-best three-mile time of 14:02.9 at the Rosemead Invitational—an impressive milestone in a season of disciplined training and strong racing. This Friday, October 23, Teal and the rest of our boys and girls cross country teams head to the Mt. SAC Relays, the largest high school meet in the country. The girls team races in Division 5 at 3:45 PM, and Teal has been selected to compete in the Sweepstakes race, reserved for the best of the best.

Girls Tennis Hangs Tough in League Competition

Our girls tennis team continues to battle through league play, bringing determination to each match and supporting one another through the demands of the season.

I’m grateful for our coaches and for the families and fans who show up to encourage our athletes. It’s a big week for the Seawolves. Come cheer them on!

FOLLOW SEAWOLF ATHLETICS

Free Will in Discussion: “God and Science” Series Launches

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

The Pacifica Center for Philosophy and Theology opened its 2026–2027 “God and Science” series with Dr. Garrett Pendergraft, who guided 28 students through a long-standing and intimate question: are our choices truly free?

Over lunch from the Wolf Shack, Dr. Pendergraft offered a map of the debate. He organized the main views on free will, separating positions that see freedom as compatible with a fully caused world from those that do not, and explained what each side means by “free.” With these categories clear, students could engage the issues.

The discussion moved to familiar threats to free will. If every event is fixed by prior causes, can any choice be ours? If we are only physical matter, can an agent choose? If God ordains all events, does divine providence preserve human freedom or sharpen the problem? Students questioned Dr. Pendergraft on each point, checking where the arguments stand or fail.

The session ended with scientific challenges. Research in neuroscience and psychology suggests our decisions arise from brain processes or unnoticed situational forces. Dr. Pendergraft, whose work argues we can be free and morally responsible despite these pressures, helped students distinguish what the science shows from what it does not.

Students departed with sharper questions, a clearer understanding of the debate, and—we hope—the belief that their choices genuinely matter.

We appreciate Dr. Pendergraft for his time and insight. Watch for the next event in the “God and Science” series!

Meet Jack Pomeroy '27: Pacifica Senior Who Summited Kilimanjaro

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Senior Jack Pomeroy has always been drawn to challenges that can't be faked or shortcut, and this summer, that instinct took him to the roof of Africa.

Jack got into hiking a few years ago, just wandering trails near home, and it grew into something much bigger. This past summer, he tackled Mount Kilimanjaro via the Northern Circuit, an eight-day route chosen specifically because its longer acclimatization window gives climbers a better shot at actually reaching the summit. "It was brutal," he said. By day five, the altitude was wearing him down, and summit night pushed him further than he expected; starting at midnight in negative 15-degree cold, with hours of climbing ahead before sunrise. He kept moving. Standing at Uhuru Peak made every step worth it.

"What I love about mountaineering is you can't fake it or shortcut it, you just have to push through," Jack said. "That's why I keep coming back to it."

That same persistence shows up in how Jack talks about his time at Pacifica. He chose the school looking for "a better opportunity to pursue my learning," and three years in, it's the people who've made the biggest impression—especially the counselors and teachers he calls "very fun to talk to." His favorite class so far has been AP Computer Science Principles, where faculty member Mr. Eno introduced him to new ways of building useful tools with AI. That hands-on mentorship has shaped how Jack thinks about his own potential.

Some of his favorite Pacifica memories come from conversations that have nothing to do with computer science at all. Jack counts his philosophy debates with Mr. Roberson among the best parts of his time here, sparring over morals and ideas with someone whose point of voice contrasts to his own. "It's very fun and interesting to debate about stuff with someone who has very different beliefs than you," he said. "Philosophy debates are always my favorite part of class."

Looking back on his time at Pacifica, Jack says the biggest shift has been in how he sees himself. "I learned that I was much smarter than I think I was," he said. "I've grown a lot with efficiency and getting stuff done." As he looks ahead to life after high school, that same drive is already pointed toward what's next: starting a business and finding out what he's really capable of.

Deepening Our Commitment to Teaching: Pacifica's New Faculty Leadership

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Voted Faculty Member of the Year in 2023, Hilary Miller (B.A. with Honors from Indiana University, ‘12; MFA from Pepperdine ‘14) is a beloved English teacher who has put down deep roots at Pacifica. In her eleventh year of teaching, seventh at Pacifica, Hilary has taught every grade level and almost every course in the English Department. She headed the Humanities Department, went on to chair the English Department, all the while teaching six English classes per year and committing herself wholeheartedly into the life of the school in small and big ways. She loves teaching The Great Gatsby, The Odyssey, and Antigone. Her favorite authors include Jane Austen, Curtis Sittenfeld, and Kevin Wilson, and she watches Nora Ephron movies on repeat. She is funny, creative, full of warmth and energy, a consummate professional who sees that teaching is a vocation that calls for commitment to each student as a child of God.

Last year Hilary taught English to the entire freshman class and added the responsibility of Assistant Director of Faculty. She worked closely with Dr Mary Ortiz, who joined Pacifica as Interim Director of Faculty. Together they provided leadership and support for the faculty.

This year Hilary has accepted the offer to take up the role of Director of Faculty and Academics. Stepping out of the classroom completely, she will provide strategic leadership for the growth, support, and effectiveness of Pacifica’s faculty and academic program. This role mentors teachers in both their professional craft and spiritual formation, cultivates academic excellence through curriculum development and instructional leadership, and fosters a positive, collaborative faculty culture aligned with Pacifica’s mission. Working closely with the Head of School and senior leadership team, the Director leads faculty development, oversees academic initiatives and assessment practices, supports hiring and onboarding, facilitates communication across departments, and helps ensure that students experience a rigorous, Christ-centered education that prepares them to think and live well.

Since Hilary has stepped out of the classroom, Katie Savage (Point Loma Nazarene University ‘03, University of Kansas, MFA, ‘11) has accepted the role of English Department Chair. Katie starts her eighth year at Pacifica and her sixteenth in the classroom.. Katie brings a wealth of classroom experience, a broad and deep familiarity with curriculum, and a love for the mission to her new role. Katie was voted Faculty of the Year in 2024 and is known and loved as a passionate and effective literature and writing teacher. She brings literature to bear on the great questions of life. A published author herself, Katie believes in the power of effective writing and feels a calling to help students deepen their skills and think critically. Her favorite books to teach include Crime and Punishment, Beloved, and Frankenstein. She is the mother of Miles ‘27 and Evie ‘30, and you’ll find her at many Pacifica sporting and arts events, cheering them on.

Dr. Mary Ortiz (B.A. Bowdoin ‘86, PhD New York University ‘09) joined Pacifica last year. Mary served as Head of School at Oakcrest School in Vienna, Virginia, for eleven years. She brings over thirty years experience in educational leadership. This year she takes on the role of Director of Academic Strategy and Operations, a part-time position through which she provides visionary leadership for the long-term development of Pacifica’s academic program, helping ensure that growth, innovation, and operational effectiveness remain firmly rooted in the school’s Christian mission and educational philosophy. Serving as a strategic thought partner to the Director of Faculty & Academics and senior leadership, Mary guides academic planning, curriculum development, instructional vision, accreditation efforts, and special projects that shape the future of the school. The Director brings wisdom, research, and an experienced perspective to complex academic challenges, facilitates collaboration across departments and grade levels, supports faculty hiring and onboarding, and helps design initiatives that cultivate intellectual, moral, and spiritual formation in students.

With Hilary and Mary in these two new roles we have strengthened and deepened the commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. Hilary and Mary have a year behind them of rich collaboration. Their roles are distinct, but their work is intertwined and interdependent. Hilary carries the daily weight of faculty life, curriculum implementation, and academic leadership. Mary’s role provides the perspective that comes from reflection and experience. In practice, this is a weekly conversation between respected partners committed to serving the mission of Pacifica. We are off to a great start!

Launching Pacifica's Robotics Program: Doc Sumida's Summer at the RECF Drone Summit

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Our teachers' love of learning isn't limited to their own subject area — sometimes it means figuring out how to build something entirely new for our students. This summer, that meant a trip to St. Louis for David "Doc" Sumida, a member of the Pacifica faculty for twelve years with over twenty-five years of teaching experience overall.

At the end of last school year, Doc proposed launching a new robotics after-school club at Pacifica. To learn how to do it well, he attended the 2026 RECF (Robotics Education and Competition Foundation) Drone Competition Summit — a national gathering where educators from across the country trade strategies for building and running competitive robotics programs.

It's not Doc's first time building something from scratch at Pacifica. He helped launch the school's Aerial Drone Competition (ADC) Club back in 2023, which went on to host the inaugural drone tournament for the entire Westside of Los Angeles. This year, that same instinct for starting new things led him to a new club: PRO.

"Networking with teachers at other schools is vital to launching new programs at Pacifica," Doc said. "In this case, networking with a national organization like RECF was also critical to us launching both the ADC Drone Club in 2023 and the new PRO club this year."

Some of the most valuable moments of the Summit weren't on the schedule at all. On the final night, with most attendees already gone, Doc figured he'd grab dinner alone. Instead, one of the remaining RECF staff members texted him an invitation to join their staff dinner — a small gesture that turned into a real opportunity. "I was thankful that they would even think of me," he said. Over dinner, he found himself trading ideas with an RECF executive about drones and PRO teams in particular, the kind of conversation that doesn't happen over email.

For Doc, the trip was proof of something he'd tell any teacher considering their own professional development: "Without the approval of professional development funds for me to go to the St. Louis conference, the launching of the new robotics club program at Pacifica would not have happened this year." Because he made the trip, Pacifica students now have a new club this year built on real expertise — and a teacher whose curiosity about the field only grew.

More Than Academics: Pacifica's Student-Led Clubs for 2026–2027

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

At Pacifica Christian High School, education is about more than academics: it's about formation. Each student is invited to think and live well by engaging both the mind and the heart in a community devoted to truth, beauty, and goodness.

One of the most visible expressions of this mission is Pacifica's student-led clubs. These groups are dreamed up, organized, and led by students who take initiative to build opportunities for connection, creativity, and service. In partnership with faculty advisors, they model the habits of thoughtful leadership through uniting passion with purpose, and learning with action.

Through these clubs, Pacifica students explore their gifts, lead with courage, and discover the joy of learning in community. Together, they embody Pacifica's core values: the integration of faith and learning, the pursuit of excellence, and authentic relationships built on grace and truth.

Take a look at the list of student clubs for 2026–2027 below.

Creativity & Expression

In keeping with Pacifica's liberal arts tradition, our creative and expressive clubs allow students to explore beauty, storytelling, and communication in all forms. Clubs such as Film Club, Page to Stage Club, and Most Improv-ed give students the space to bring their creative ideas to life, while Book Club and The Wolf Post let students engage thoughtfully with the written word and the world around them.

Leadership & Innovation

At Pacifica, we teach students how to think, not what to think. Leadership and innovation clubs are a wonderful example of that perspective. Student leaders in Young Entrepreneurs (YEA), the Real Estate/Finance Club, and Women in Business translate ideas into action through initiative and collaboration.

In STEM Scholars, the Pacifica Interscholastic Mathematics Club, Model UN, Women in STEM, and our Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Science Olympiad teams, students ask questions, test solutions, and discover the joy of problem-solving — including from the sky, with our Aerial Drone Team.

Culture, Style & Community

Our campus is a true reflection of Pacifica's commitment to bringing together young men and women from all neighborhoods and walks of life. Student leaders in the Asian Student Association (ASA), Black Student Union (BSU), and the Junior Classical League (JCL) cultivate spaces for connection, dialogue, and celebration. Clubs like Chess Club, French Club, the Mountain Club, Beach Volleyball, Pickleball, Softball, Warhammer40k, SuperSmashBros, the Self Improvement Club, Patriots of Pacifica, and even the Trader Joe's Club bring students together around shared passions, reminding us that joyful learning and authentic community often go hand-in-hand.

Faith & Fellowship

Faith and fellowship are central to life at Pacifica. Student-led groups like Young Life, Bagels and Bibles, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Women's Bible Study, and Iron Sharpens Iron create opportunities for spiritual growth, reflection, and encouragement. These gatherings strengthen the bonds of community and remind students that faith is not only taught but lived: in friendship, service, and everyday life.

Service & Impact

Pacifica's mission calls students to lives of faith, character, and service to the glory of God, and our service clubs embody that calling.

Through groups such as the Veteran's Service Club, the CHLA Service Club, and Habitat for Humanity, students lead with compassion and care. Community Kitchen, Heal the Bay, St. Monica's Service Events, The Card Cure, The Story Project, The Psyche Project, Tutoring Club, Baking for a Better Future, Mind Matters Psychology Club, School Band, and the Palisades Recovery Club extend Pacifica's reach into the broader community, meeting tangible needs with humility and purpose.

From the arts to engineering, from faith groups to service projects, every Pacifica club is a student-led expression of what it means to integrate faith, virtue, and learning. These students take initiative, build community, and shape the culture of our school, which not only prepares them for college, but also for lives of wisdom, courage, and joy.

Because at Pacifica, education isn't just something students receive; it's something they build together.

God & Science: Bringing Together What is being Torn Apart

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Stephen Jay Gould, the Harvard paleontologist and science popularizer, put forward in his book Rocks of Ages a "blessedly simple" resolution to the "supposed conflict between science and religion." The solution? Gould called it "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA for short).

What Gould intended by this blessedly simple resolution was to set a boundary line between two domains of knowledge, each domain being called a "magisterium": science and religion. Science has the language and tools to meaningfully talk about the empirical realm. Religion has its own language and tools to meaningfully talk about ultimate meaning, values, and God. The conflict between the two domains was dissolved by realizing that neither science nor religion overlaps with the other in any way. Science has nothing to say to religion, and religion has nothing to say to science. They live in harmony because they live, like an emotionally distant married couple, in separate rooms of reality.

Gould's solution ought to be seen as a step forward in the dialogue between science and religion. The "conflict thesis"—the idea that science and religion are intrinsically and inevitably in conflict, and have been so historically—still seems to have advocates. These range from popularizers like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye the Science Guy to science practitioners like Sean Carroll and Sabine Hossenfelder. Given that, some rapprochement is welcome, even if it comes at the cost of a cold silence between the two.

However, the Christian faith and the history of science have never held that the empirical realm is silent on questions of ultimate meaning. Nor have they held that God as creator makes no impact on how we view the world. The Bible declares that "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1). And the Apostle Paul speaks of God's invisible qualities being known through the natural world, because it bears the distinct signature of his design and creation (Romans 1:20). Furthermore, early scientists like Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei constantly looked to what they called "the book of nature," because there they could read the writing of design. Newton himself writes in his Principia Mathematica—the high-water mark of mathematical reasoning in the Scientific Revolution—that "This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being…" Gould may prefer a cool silence between science and religion. But the Bible, Christian history, and the early scientists will not have it.

It is with this intellectual background that the Center for Philosophy and Theology at Pacifica Christian High School, Santa Monica, is taking up the theme of God and Science for our speaker series this year. Our goal is to explore bringing together what our society sees as torn apart: science and religion. To that end, our students will be engaging in their classes. But they will also take part in special, select student seminars with great thinkers who will challenge them to bring these non-overlapping magisteria together again, so that they form a unified whole. Creator and creation; God and nature; science and religion—again in conversation, not as enemies but as friends.