23 LIVING PARK’S VALUES: Meet the Hebrank Family When did your family join the Park community, and what made you choose Park? We came to Park in Fall 2014 when Sam started Kindergarten. The art space was what initially really captured us with all the different opportunities and color and creativity. Opportunities to actively learn with less traditional grading and testing. Outdoor learning in natural space. Secular progressive educational philosophy. Describe Park in three words. Andy: Quality progressive education Jenn: Joyful, natural, growth Sam: Art, nature, progressive Maisie: Fun, creative, nature What events and activities have each of you participated in at Park? Sam: Soccer, cross country, chess club, art & nature club, reading club, sports club, band Maisie: Soccer and band Everyone: Earth Spirit What is your favorite place on the Park campus? Sam: Art room Maisie: Art room and the pond Why are Park’s Core Values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and kindness important to remember each day at school? Sam: So that you can get all your work done and you don’t get expelled. Maisie: To make sure that you are nice and everybody else is nice. What would you say to a family who was considering sending their child to Park? DO IT! Go for a tour, have a conversation, shadow for a day - feel what it is like to be part of the Park family! Is there a favorite Park memory that stands out to you? Sam: Bonding Day 2022 getting to hang out with friends and have fun. Maisie: Touching a snapping turtle for the first time. Andy: Sledding after school with the playground gang. Jenn: Hearing Sam come home telling us how much he enjoyed his first Earth Spirit lesson. Park’s Latin motto is Veritas et Gaudium, truth and joy. Can you give us an example of a truth or a joy you’ve witnessed at the school? Sam: First time playing in a concert with band. Maisie: Everybody always gets excited when they see the turtles. Jenn: Visiting the art show then all the amazing artwork that comes home at the end of every year. Andy: Jarret (Izzo, Director of Admissions) playing the piano. Talk about your family’s love of nature. Our family’s love of nature grew in part from all of the opportunities the kiddos got through Earth Spirit programming at Park. Then our family starting to go to Earth Spirit public activities. At the same time we were exploring local places to hike and getting involved in our local nature community. When Sam was learning about birds from Mrs. Wood in 2nd grade, Maisie was in PreK and fell in love with all things birds. From there we have learned more and more about birds and gotten involved in the birding community over the years. We also like insects, pond invertebrates, mushrooms, nudibranchs, crabs, mammals, turtles, and really pretty much anything out in nature. Tell us about your community involvement outside of Park. We are actively involved in our nature community particularly at Reinstein Woods volunteering for trail team, on the board, and in various events. We also lead the Western New York Young Birders Club (www.wnyybc.org) connecting families to birding through events and resources. The girls volunteer at Braddock Bay Bird Observatory doing migratory bird research. What inspires you? Sam: Teaching the next generation about nature and conservation. Maisie: Birds! And any other animals. Jenn: The kiddos and the beauty of nature. Andy: Seeing life long naturalists still getting excited by nature (a.k.a. old guys getting excited about mushrooms). What is your favorite place in WNY? Allegany Nature Pilgrimage - an annual gathering at Allegany State Park where great people get together to learn about and share their knowledge of nature (https://www.alleganynaturepilgrimage.com/). The Hebrank Family, parents Jenn and Andy, and kids Sam (Grade 8) and Maisie (Grade 4) are true “Parkies.” As longtime members of the community, they embody the school’s values and have immersed themselves in this community.
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