Rolling Hills Prep Students Rally Behind Teacher

Football Team Shave Their Heads in Support

[ClickPress, Tue Feb 20 2007] Dee Auffrey is the head of the math department for Rolling Hills Prep School. Late last year, the beloved and unflappable math teacher discovered that she had stage one ovarian cancer. Inspired by Mrs. Auffrey’s strength and positive outlook, the students of RHP decided to offer and demonstrate their support. RHP’s student body president Torey Frisina and RHP’s president of the National Honor Society Julie Connelly led the charge to involve the entire school became in a fundraising campaign for ovarian cancer research.

“Ovarian cancer is deadly with high mortality rates if not detected in stage one”, stated Frisina. “Even though it is a very deadly disease, ovarian cancer research funding is one of the lowest funded,” added Julie Connelly. RHP will be donating to the Gilda Radner Cancer Detection Program at Cedars Sinai Hospital to help find a cure. The school has taken on the goal of raising $5,000. To help us reach this goal, teams, clubs, and organizations inside of school have pledged to help raise money.
One example is the RHP Football team, which has taken on the challenge of raising $2000 for this cause by shaving their heads. They are asking for people to pledge money to support this cause. The head-shaving event will take place on Thursday February 22, 2007. For more information on how to sponsor a player on the team call Torey Frisina at 310 831 6240.
“The goal of every teacher is to have a positive impact on the students we teach. This outpouring of support is heartwarming and deeply appreciated,” stated Auffrey. “Quite frankly, I’m overwhelmed.”

Julie Connelly was influential in bringing other campus clubs into the fund raising efforts. These clubs plan on donating at least half of their profits, including RHP’s Theater department, Asian Club, Fashion Club, NHS, Cooking Club, Middle School Student Store and more.

“I’m not surprised by the devotion of our student body,” stated RHP alum, Jenny Rasak. Mrs. Auffrey is one of those teachers that graduates like myself stay in touch with. When visiting the school after graduation, alumnae make a point of seeing Mrs. Auffrey.”

About Rolling Hills Preparatory School
Rolling Hills Preparatory School is a 25-year old, independent community school serving grade 6-12 students from 21 South Bay cities ranging from El Segundo to Long Beach. RHP is appropriately called a “community school” as it serves the broader educational interests of the South Bay as a community-based institution serving a broad array of educational constituents. RHP is a traditional college preparatory school whose mission for its college bound students is to develop disciplined minds, sound character, healthy bodies, and creative spirits. RHP is home to the Road to Excellence program which provides a variety of support services to intellectually capable, college bound students with specific, language-based learning differences. Ninety-nine percent of RHP students matriculate to student-appropriate colleges that include the nation’s finest public and private universities, local community colleges, special-focus engineering and arts colleges, and an array of state universities.

While offering a rigorous college prep curriculum, the school employs the latest proven innovative teaching models and learning styles to maximize the performance of individual students. The school encourages collaboration with other programs and non-profits to motivate and provide experiential learning to students. Arts collaborations, robotics, community service projects, and the outdoor education component of the curriculum are examples of RHP’s focus on encouraging its students to be high performers.

RHP relocated to its new campus in San Pedro in February of 2007. The new campus is one of the first privately-held, fully-sustainable, “green” campuses in the Western United States.

RHPS has its accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS). In addition RHPS is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

For more information contact Ileana International:

Mike Mena
310 683-6327
mike@ileanainternational.com

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