First day of school
Sept. 2, 2025
Students, faculty and staff welcomed new Head of School Quinton P. Walker to campus and began the 2025-26 school year.
The Urban Legend publishes its first paper of the year
Oct. 15, 2025
Fall Class Days
Oct. 24, 2025
Taking a break from usual class schedules, ninth graders competed in the advising Olympics, while 10th graders went hiking and kayaking in Sausalito, and 11th graders did a citywide scavenger hunt. The senior class gathered for warm drinks, cake and college application work time on campus.
Halloween
Oct. 31, 2025
Dozens of students and faculty participated in the school-wide costume contest at the annual Halloween all school meeting. The father-daughter duo of science teacher Geoff Ruth and Kyle Speta ’26 won the group costume contest dressed as each other. Sara Xa-Chin ’26 won the student solo costume category dressed as the main boss from the video game “Hollow Knight” while balancing on two-foot-four-inch stilts. Math teacher Kenny Daniels won the teacher contest for the fourth year in a row dressed as Robert Redford from “The Electric Horseman” (1979).
Fall theater production: “Macbeth”
Nov. 11-15, 2025
The theater department’s production of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” featured 16 cast members and more than a dozen crew members. The production, which ran for five days, was Urban’s first Shakespeare production in more than a decade.
Peer Ed show: “Note(s) to Self”
Dec. 4-6, 2025
Eight sophomores performed pieces about their life experiences and mental health in the annual Peer Education Theater show. “One of the things that was unique about our show was our use of humor,” said Ayana Kang ’28, one of the performers. “We managed to have a lot of moments … that brought the mood up a little, and that multidimensional-ness was part of the reason our show was so good.”
Chamber Orchestra, Urban Singers and Jazz Band perform in winter and spring music concerts
Dec. 13-14, 2025 and May 16-17
19th annual Month of Understanding
Jan. 8-Feb. 2
Throughout January, student diversity leaders hosted 15 lunchtime events exploring this year’s MultiCulti theme, radical hope. “The highlight for me was watching how the whole community came together,” said Jason Ernest Feldman, dean of equity, inclusion and belonging. “It didn’t necessarily feel like it was individuals putting on MOU. It felt like it was a real collective.”
Soccerfest
Jan. 9
As hundreds filled the stands at Beach Chalet, the boys and girls varsity soccer teams both won against Lick-Wilmerding High School, scoring 2-0 and 5-0, respectively. The Blues Spirit Squad performed a cheer routine at halftime, incorporating pompoms and stunts in front of an audience for the first time.
Snow Ball
Jan. 24
The Student Committee hosted Urban’s first-ever winter dance, the Snow Ball, for 11th and 12th graders in the Performing Arts + Community Center. The event drew 170 students and 21 guests. “Seeing that many people in the PACC, all dressed up … made it feel like we succeeded,” said Rachel Rose ’26, student body co-president, who worked on organizing the Snow Ball for almost a year. The dance included a photo booth, snow-themed decorations and live DJ’ing by history teacher Kaylah Breiz ’17.
Citywide anti-ICE walkout and rally
Jan. 30
Cole Ambrocente ’26 and Lucy Sylvester ’26 helped rally nearly two-thirds of the student body to join thousands of San Franciscans gathered in Dolores Park to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s actions and violence across the country.
Seniors lead WinterFest activities, from pole dancing to pottery painting
Feb. 6
The Urban Legend hosts release party for 16th annual Yeti magazine
Feb. 10
Feb. 24-28
Nearly 60 students helped produce Urban’s rendition of Tim Minchin’s “Matilda: The Musical,” including 15 cast members, 10 ensemble members, nine pit band players and a number of technical artists. “Matilda” featured 18 musical numbers, whimsical set design and three working swings.
Feb. 19
The 22nd annual Winter Art Show featured 18 seniors’ capstone visual art projects, ranging from videos to paintings to crocheted sculptures. At the show, students shared their art pieces and spoke about their process work with attendees. Theo DiLullo ’26 used calculus to create an eight-foot-tall structure of a human head. “It was super nice to have a ton of people come see my art. It was a little scary to speak in front of a ton of people, but it was also super cool to see other students present in a way that’s unique to the Winter Art Show,” he said.
Student body elects new co-presidents
March 24-25
After several weeks of candidates campaigning via Schoology and hanging posters around campus, the student body elected Ella Pradhan ’27 and Skylan Tong ’27 as the 2026-27 student body co-presidents. “I ran my campaign on reliability,” said Tong, who gave his campaign speech dressed as Loki, the fictional god of mischief from the Marvel cinematic universe. “I mostly just had fun with it. I wrote a good speech — showing up as Loki was just a fun bonus.”
April 3
The Students for Women’s Equality and Rights affinity space’s 14th annual Girl Talk featured 10 female-identifying students’ artwork. Their visual art pieces, videos and personal essays explored each individual’s experience of girlhood. “I felt so much pride and joy for them,” SWEAR co-leader RaeLynn Smith ’27 said. “I really hope [the audience] got a deeper understanding of what it is to be a girl right now.”
Interscholastic robotics team SF Unity wins 61st place out of 145 schools in NorCal District, with 14 Urban students helping create robot Claude
April 4
Taiwan trip
April 12-22
Sixteen students traveled to Taipei, Taiwan to explore the city and practice their Mandarin-speaking skills. They visited a local school, went to night markets and museums, learned to cook traditional Taiwanese dishes, and more. “My favorite part was [meeting] students from the school that we went to — it was fun to hang out with them and learn [about] their different cultural interactions outside of school,” said Edina Meckfessel ’27, who went on the trip. “It was really interesting to compare Urban to what school is like in Taiwan.”
Spain trip
April 12-22
Eighteen students went on the international trip to Spain, staying primarily in Madrid and Seville. For Zoe Romney ’27, highlights included visiting historical churches and castles and the opportunity for immersive language practice. “I definitely got in the habit of [speaking] Spanish being my first instinct,” she said. “It did help to be in that environment and [to] see another culture.”
Spring class days
April 15-17
Ninth grade: Redwood Glen Camp & Conference Center in Loma Mar, Calif.
Tenth grade: camping in Pinnacles National Park, Calif.
Eleventh grade: Pie Ranch in San Mateo County, Calif.
Twelfth grade: The Bishop’s Ranch in Healdsburg, Calif.
Second annual Urban Film Festival
May 1
Lachlan McConnell ’27, Hayden Hu ’28 and Ayla Neiman ’28 spearheaded the second annual Urban Film Festival, featuring nine students’ original short films. The festival took place in the Performing Arts + Community Center and drew a crowd of around 50 attendees. “It’s been my dream since freshman year, and it really happened this year,” McConnell said.
May 9
This year’s prom, with the theme A Night on Olympus, took place at San Francisco City Hall. Students enjoyed music, dancing, crepes and a beautiful venue. #CrepesInGreece #OneForPromAndPromForAll
Varsity boys volleyball wins Division II North Coast Section championship, advancing to states
May 14
One Acts Festival
May 26-30
Students wrote, directed, produced and performed four One Act shows: “MURDER!,” “Skeletons in the Closet,” “Death by Decaf” and “The Accident.” Sara Xa-Chin ’26, who wrote and directed “Skeletons in the Closet,” shared her goals for the festival. “I hope people enjoy the absurdity of it. A lot of our plays play into absurdity and suspense of disbelief, and playing around with that was really fun,” she said.
Last day of school & class of 2026 graduation in Stern Grove
June 11-12