International Women’s Day Assembly 2022

Judge Abinanti is a Yurok Chief Judge and an enrolled Yurok Tribal member. She holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of New Mexico School of Law and was the first California tribal woman to be admitted to the State Bar of California. She was a State Judicial Officer (Commissioner) for the San Francisco Superior Court for over 17 years assigned to the Unified Family Court (Family/Dependency/Delinquency).

 

She retired from the Superior Court in September 2011 and on July 31, 2014, was reappointed as a part-time Commissioner for San Francisco assigned to Dependency and Duty Judge for that Court where she served until 2015. She has been a Yurok Tribal Court Judge since 1997 and was appointed Chief Tribal Court Judge in 2007, a position she held in conjunction with her Superior Court assignment until 2015. 

 

Judge Abby intentionally chose to present and engage with the students in a conversation circle. Knowing your community and having conversations to get to know one another and resolve issues has been a tool she uses often in her practice of justice. She began the assembly with a story about "Little Bird," touching on themes of responsibility to your community and the environment. After sharing some of her history and experiences, she invited the students into an open conversation. Many hands were raised and students asked questions such as why she became a judge, what to do if someone repeats their bad behavior, and what to do when someone refuses to take responsibility for their actions. Renita LiVolsi, Director of Inclusivity and Community Building, stated: “This is the beginning of us bringing more indigenous voices to the Burke's community. California has a large indigenous population and it’s important that they are not invisible within our society.” 

 

Judge Abinanti joins a long line of esteemed Burke’s International Women's Day guests that have included Vice President Kamala Harris, Mayor London Breed, Audrey Cooper, Editor in Chief of the San Francisco Chronicle, the inspiring athlete and conservationist Kim Chambers, and most recently, Michaela DePrince, a renowned ballet soloist at the Dutch National Ballet and co-author of the books Hope in a Ballet Shoe and Ballerina Dreams. 

 

The annual International Women’s Day Assembly is a beloved highlight, but it’s not the only way Burke’s students are celebrating Women’s History Month. As you enter the school a bulletin board features brief biographies of notable women and some of our third graders have launched the ”Eileen Gu ’17  Challenge" with a pledge to take one risk that will help them grow as a learner, friend, or athlete. Lower School Art is highlighting two amazing artists: Kay Sekimachi, fiber artist, and weaver and sculptor Louise Nevelson. 

 

Upper Schoolers are working on an Influential Women Project in a collaboration with Visual Art, Language (Spanish & French), HEART, and the tech department. Students will create a needlepoint of an influential woman, and create a time-lapse video showing their work, along with dialogue describing the project. Burke’s Library has put together a showcase of influential women, in addition to a Women's History Month display in the windows. 

 

A celebration of Women’s History Month would not be complete without a mention of our founder, Katherine Delmar Burke (1867-1929). She came from a long line of teachers and began tutoring both adults and children for 25 cents an hour while she was still attending Girls’ High School, and later became a faculty member at Miss Murison’s School. In 1908, she began teaching her own class in a rental at Steiner and Pacific Avenues in Pacific Heights. There were eight girls in her inaugural class, later called the “Charter Children.” This was the beginning of Katherine Delmar Burke School.