SPRING 2019
The Magazine of Church Farm School
Building Our Second Century CFS_S18_Covers_20190308_newphoto.indd 2
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BUILDING BONDS WITH ALUMNI
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BUILDING OUR SECOND CENTURY
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BUILDING STEAM
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BUILDING ON FAITH
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ALUMNI WEEKEND
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BUILDING LEGACIES
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Dear Alumni and Friends of Church Farm School,
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t gives me great pleasure to announce that at its January meeting, the CFS Board of Directors gave its approval to commence construction of Phase One of the CFS Campus Plan.
This $15M campus modernization project will be presented within this Maroon and Grey, and I am honored and privileged to say here that it is only through the hard work of directors, donors, staff and the greater CFS community that such a long-held vision is becoming a living reality. We are truly excited and look to have this work completed by August 2020. Earth will certainly be moving by Alumni Weekend in May and we hope this will add incentive for you to come join in the festivities and see all the good that is happening at CFS today. Over Alumni Weekend we will also be honoring at dinner several new inductees into the Athletic Hall of Honor; a bi-annual event shining an important light on and celebrating the achievements of those athletes and coaches who set the bar high, attained lasting results and showed others a most positive way to find enduring success in both sports and life. We will also recognize an individual’s commitment to the school with the Newton Disney Service Award. Now well into our second century of service to young men, Church Farm School is on the move, adapting to the ever-changing educational landscape and producing a desired talent pool poised to lead others in this modern environment. At the same time, CFS remains devoted to addressing and mentoring those habits of heart, mind and spirit which produce that character young people deserve and need to advance the promise of our democratic society. I certainly believe this to be true and to see for yourselves, I enthusiastically invite you to look back, come back and give back. With gratitude for your steadfast loyalty and support,
The Reverend Edmund K. Sherrill II
Photo Credit Alan Kolc MAROON & GREY Spring 2019 The Magazine of Church Farm School EDITOR Stefanie Claypoole LAYOUT & DESIGN Harp and Company Graphic Design PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY Betsy Barron Photography MISSION The Church Farm School prepares a diverse group of boys with academic ability and good character to lead productive and fulfilling lives by making a college preparatory education financially accessible. Support our mission at gocfs.net.
ADMINISTRATION HEAD OF SCHOOL The Rev. Edmund K. Sherrill II ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL/ DIRECTOR OF ACADEMICS Christopher Seeley DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION Lisa Reynolds Smoots DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Gregory Thompson DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE GUIDANCE Tiffany Scott DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Jon Knorr DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS Karen Wertz DIRECTOR OF STUDENT LIFE Randy Noll
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Building Bonds with Alumni in College
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orging bonds with our students isn’t just a byproduct of the boarding school experience; it’s an integral part of our mission. Recognizing that the college experience can be both exhilarating and challenging, CFS launched the Alumni Success Program in 2016 as a means to keep those bonds strong while offering support to students. The Hamilton Family Foundation, the Church of the Redeemer and the Charter Foundation provided seed funding which has enabled a start up Alumni Success Team to connect with nearly 200 alumni in college each year, either in person or remotely, to help them work through any issues that arise. In September of 2018, we were thrilled to receive a $100,000 grant from the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation to continue this effort over the next six years. Why is following our students after graduation so critical?
Nationally, the percentage of male students who graduate in six years or less is 56%. When you add a challenging financial situation into that mix, the college persistence rate for young men drops considerably. “One hundred percent of our graduates are matriculating to esteemed colleges and universities each year, but many are the first in their families to go to college, or are facing other setbacks. We’ve found that maintaining connections with our alumni plays a critical role in their persistence; whether assisting with course selections, giving advice about managing student-professor relationships or just offering a listening ear when they are homesick,” says Tiffany Scott, Church Farm School Director of College Guidance. Alumni Success Program member Wayne Bala has noticed a strong uptick in communication since the program’s inception to today. “Something has started to feel different. I’m texting with boys much more frequently, and even our West Coast alums are getting back to me despite the time difference, proud to share their accomplishments and future plans.” Mr. Bala works consistently with Class Reps to get status updates on those he hasn’t heard from, plus organizes visits and lunches with alumni to see how the program can help or just to let them know the resources available to them. The results so far are overwhelmingly positive; college persistence rates have grown from 56% in 2011 to nearly 97% in 2017, and our graduation rates (within six years) have risen from 44% for the Class of 2011 to 70% for the Class of 2014 (with less than five years of reporting). Church Farm School’s goal is to increase our six-year graduation rate to 85%, and we are well on our way to this significant achievement!
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Maceo Sample ’16 Earns Prestigious Boeing Internship Maceo Sample ’16 attended Church Farm School for just two years, but the Alaska native made a big impact during his short tenure, always offering a warm smile and positive energy to his peers and faculty. Maceo says the transition to private school was initially difficult, because his public school in Anchorage had been much stricter and oftentimes “felt like a prison.” “Church Farm School allows their students to express themselves in a positive manner. There was a schedule and criteria to be met, but after that, I was able to manage my own time,” he says. When it came time to decide on college, Maceo said he created an Excel spreadsheet to compare costs of attendance and other factors for the 16 schools to which he was accepted. “I found that Central Washington University had a better cost per year, more offerings and was on the west coast, which is closer to home. Everything about the school fit exactly what I was looking for in a university.” Maceo says he wasn’t sure what major he wanted to pursue when he arrived at CWU; he advises researching different fields through a mix of academic work and fieldwork to find out what interests you most. “In the summer of 2017, I worked for Target as a back stocker managing inventory. Although I was not high in the chain of command, I always asked questions, which allowed me to gain more knowledge about a field I would later come across.” That field is Supply Chain Management, which Maceo declared as his major this year (along with Economics). The dual majors, along with his involvement in campus groups including the CWU Supply Chain Management Association, the CWU Economics Club and his role as the Vice President of Public Affairs for the CWU Investment Group, helped him nab a prestigious 10-14 week internship at Boeing that will start this summer. “The Boeing internship is huge here at CWU. There is a lot of competition between students, and it is no easy task to receive an offer. My first encounter with the Boeing Company was called the Boeing BASE program, which is a Supply Chain Boot Camp that you undergo for a week. There are three stages of interviews before you are accepted to the program. Considering that I was a freshman at the time and the first freshman Student
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Ambassador for the College of Business, I made it to the second round, however, I did not make the last round because I didn’t declare a Supply Chain Management major. By the beginning of my junior year, I had declared two majors and had the experience that Boeing was looking for in an applicant. I also made efforts to establish a relationship with department chairs of both respective majors, and put forth effort to be active in the community. These tiny details set me apart from the rest of the applicants for the Boeing Business Internship Program. I will be doing Supply Chain Analysis for the company. This means that I manage inventory and mitigate through shortages or surplus problems. If that sounds familiar, then you probably heard me say the same thing about my time at Target.” Congratulations, Maceo! Read the full interview with Maceo Sample and his tips for our Griffins entering college on our website at gocfs. net!
Class of 2019 College Acceptances:*
JEREMY ACOSTA ’19:
Growing into Griffinhood Church Farm School often sees promise in young men that they don’t yet see in themselves. Once they matriculate, students are propelled by their peers and the adult community to find and nurture their innate capabilities. Senior Jeremy Acosta will be the first to admit that initially, he wasn’t fully invested in the Church Farm School experience. “The first two years were really hard, I was kind of lost.” Then, a noticeable shift occurred. Jeremy started becoming more involved in the community, and in finding and sharing his own gifts. “I just felt like it was time to grow up. The decisions I was making were holding me back.” His junior year, he took up piano with Mr. Gress. “I like the way classical music makes me feel.” He started a clothing business, Pepperjack, with his good friend Joel Gilgeous ’19, with whom he says he spends a lot of time talking about goals. This year, encouraged by longtime head coach Art Smith, he took up wrestling and won his first match. He started to become a student to watch. Not only has the CFS community taken notice, but so has Skidmore College. He was accepted early decision and received a full academic scholarship. “I really like their motto, ‘Creative thought matters.’ That’s a great mantra to live by; it’s important to me that they value that.” Jeremy is extremely thankful that he finally embraced Church Farm School; acknowledging that had he remained at his Brooklyn public school, where 30-40 students per class was the norm, his “freshman and sophomore year behavior would have just persisted through graduation.” He’s also appreciative of a brotherhood that he had previously never known, having resided with his grandmother (who pushed him to apply to boarding school), his mother and his twin sister his whole life. “The bonds and relationships we build here, it’s more like a family. You can really be yourself here.”
Albright College Allegheny College Binghamton Universit Boston University Buffalo State College Cleveland State University Eastern Illinois University Drexel University Elizabethtown University Fordham University Fort Hays State University George Washington University Goucher College Hamilton College Hood College Indiana University Ithaca College Juniata College Maryville University MCPHS Ohio Wesleyan University Pomona College Rider University Robert Morris University Rutgers University Saint Louis University Savannah College of Art and Design School of Visual Arts Seton Hall University Skidmore College Southern Illinois University St. John’s College St. John’s University St. Louis College of Pharmacy St. Peter’s University Stetson University Stevenson University SUNY Albany College SUNY Buffalo State College Susquehanna University Syracuse University Temple University U Mass—Lowell University of Central Arkansas University of Delaware University of Missouri—St. Louis University of Pittsburgh University of Richmond Union College Ursinus College U.S. Naval Academy Vanderbilt University Wagner College West Chester University Whittier College *As of March 15
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BUILDING OUR SECOND CENTURY
“For the Boys” C A P I TA L C A M PA I G N
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wise man (Cecil Hengeveld ’64, profiled on page 9) recently said, “You always have to improve your home.” Inspired by a bold vision for our second century, the CFS Board of Directors recently approved a $15M plan to modernize the school’s campus; the first part of a multiphase project to advance the school’s mission of educating 180 high-potential, highly motivated young men through its second century. The campus renovation retains the rural and historic charm of Church Farm School’s nationally recognized campus* while transforming the academic side of the campus in three main areas: 1. New Arts Center: A new Arts Center will consolidate the school’s arts program into a centralized, modern facility complete with
studios, labs, classrooms and practice and performance spaces. A central exhibition gallery and outdoor arts patio will showcase student work. 2. Academic Building Renovations: The school’s main academic building – Greystock Hall – will be re-oriented to face the new entrance and quad. This will allow for a consolidated Admission office on the first floor, an enlarged dining center and modernized classrooms and gathering spaces. 3. New Entrance and School Safety Enhancements: An inviting new entrance road from Valley Creek Boulevard will create a safer and more environmentally sound campus approach and exit.
*Most Beautiful Private High School in PA— Architectual Digest April 2018
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This project has been largely funded by generous donors and supporters as part of the school’s “For the Boys” Capital Campaign. The school anticipates site work will commence in spring 2019, with a completion date of August 2020. Designers for the project are Voith and Mactavish, architects, and Chester Valley Engineers, civil engineers. Construction is being provided by H.L. Wiker Inc. and CH&E Construction, both of Lancaster, PA.
function as a sculpture garden or an outdoor event space. Attractive, well-lit and acoustically excellent, these new facilities will help students find their voices and nurture their creativity.
Greystock Renovations Facilitate Greater Community Collaboration
The new entrance to the school reorients and repurposes the north side of Greystock Hall. This will allow for a consolidated Admissions office on the first New Entrance Creates Safer Ingress floor, reconfigured classrooms, new meeting spaces, and Egress and New Quad an enlarged dining facility with a patio that can accommodate the entire school in one sitting, and an In the 1960s, Church Farm elevator, making the entire School created an underbuilding ADA-accessible. In ground tunnel to provide addition, the Route 30 tunnel safe passage from the north will extend into Greystock “We are excited about and south sides of campus, Hall, so that students no lonChurch Farm School’s as Lincoln Highway (Route ger have to navigate through campus renovation 30) was becoming increasa parking lot and inclement and the ways in which ingly crowded with vehicweather to get to school. it will enhance the ular traffic. More than 50 school as it enters its “We are excited about years later, the problem has Church Farm School’s camonly compounded, with cars second century.” pus renovation and the ways trying to exit campus toward in which it will enhance the the east across a significant school as it enters its secvolume of traffic. A new ond century. We also know entrance road with turn out that the competitive environment for independent lanes from the much-less traveled Valley Creek schools has changed dramatically over the past 10 Boulevard will provide peace of mind to faculty, years. The talented and deserving students we seek staff, parents, students and other visitors as they have many great options and we want CFS to be travel into and out of campus each day. The new road will lead past the school’s Arts Center to an their first choice,” says Matt Burns, Board President expanded parking area for the main academic and a former CFS parent. buildings, keeping cars disconnected from traffic. An inviting new Quad area will enhance outdoor “We are grateful to our Board for supporting our connections in a variety of school programs. vision, and our Capital Campaign taskforce, cochaired by Board members John Bellis and Dick Gherst, who have worked tirelessly to fulfill the A Standalone Arts Center Campaign goals and make this project a reality,” Consolidates Classrooms and Adds adds Head of School The Rev. Edmund K. Sherrill II.
Performance Space
For years, the school’s diverse arts offerings – choir, band, clay, woodworking, digital photo and more – have been housed not only in different buildings, but on different sides of campus. With the renovations to the existing maintenance and shops building, the curriculum will finally be consolidated within a new Arts Center that features modern studios, labs and practice spaces and classrooms, a central exhibiting space and performance gallery and an arts patio that can 8
To learn more about the Campaign and how you can support our vision, visit gocfs.net/campaign or contact the CFS Development Office at 610.363.5333.
Along with a generous donation to the school’s Capital Campaign, Cecil recently joined the Campaign Task Force, a committee that has been working diligently behind the scenes to create a campus plan that is fiscally responsible, achievable and most importantly, beneficial to the school as it enters its second century of service to young men. According to Cecil, “The overriding goal of the Campaign is to improve Church Farm School’s ability to provide deserving students with an education that prepares them to be well-rounded adults who appreciate the arts, education, community and leadership. The planned improvements to the campus will address all of these goals.” Cecil says his support is simply a means of taking care of his one-time home. “CFS was my home for eight years. That experience not only provided me with an education, but the confidence to believe in myself, the desire to help others and the willingness to provide opportunities for others. This Campaign enables my wife and I to contribute to the CFS mission to help young men live fruitful lives in our society.” Cecil believes the safety aspects of the plan cannot be under-valued. “By moving the main vehicle entrance and extending the tunnel into the main building, the intense and potentially dangerous traffic on Route 30 will be eliminated.” Cecil’s generation perhaps remembers best how traffic on Route 30 swelled in the 50s and 60s, resulting in a student’s death and the construction of the tunnel. The ability for students and faculty to have better, and more consolidated learning spaces should also prove to be a significant benefit. “As an example, combining the arts into an adequate building will give the students and teachers more focus on learning.”
CECIL ’64 AND PEGGY HENGEVELD
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ecil Hengeveld ’64, and his wife, Peggy, have always been generous and vibrant supporters of Church Farm School. Born in Allentown, Cecil grew up in Philadelphia with his mother, who worked for the Reading Railroad. His aunt, an Episcopalian, introduced Cecil to the school. “Many boys come to the school to get that extra sense of family that they may not have,” Cecil says. In addition to a strong work ethic, Cecil credits Church Farm School’s core values—integrity, responsibility, respect and brotherhood—as especially critical for those who serve in the U.S. military. Cecil and his wife, Peggy, are both retired Brigadier Generals with decades of service to the United States Army between them.
“CFS provided me with a solid foundation to live a fulfilling life. As long as it exists, it will continue to provide these ideals for its students.” Our thanks to Cecil and Peggy, along with the many others who have financially supported the campaign thus far. If you are interesting in donating to the Capital Campaign or learning more, visit gocfs.net/campaign.
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CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS Eileen and Alemayehu Addis ‘97 Anonymous Claire and John Bellis Georgina Bissell The Boudinot Foundation Elia Buck Jim Buck Laura and Bill Buck Teresa and Matt Burns Dave Carroll ’62 Joanne and Mark Carroll Stephen Carroll ‘00 Marcia and Greg Coleman Crystal Trust Kathi and Sam Cupp Carlyn and Steve Darby Rosemary and John Diederich Earline and Kermit Eck Priscilla Gabosch Eleanor and Dick Gherst Sally Graham
John Grunwell ‘60 Hamilton Family Foundation Hankin Foundation Sandi and Preston Hannibal Peggy and Cecil Hengeveld ‘64 Anne and Morris Kellett Stacey and Bill Kley Kaye Klintworth The McLean Contributionship Dick Mulford Cackie Rogers Dora and Rob Rogers Ruthanne and Gary Schlarbaum Lizette and Ned Sherrill Sandhya and Mehul Trivedi Pat and Chris Washburn Eric Weller ’74 Karen and Brian Wertz Mary and Bruce Wilson Margaret Wolcott
CAPITAL PROJECT TASK FORCE MEMBERS Mr. John Bellis, Jr., Co-Chair Mr. Richard Gherst II, Co-Chair Ms. Carol Ann Atterbury Mr. Matthew Burns Mr. Mark Carroll Mr. Samuel Cupp Mr. Stephen Darby Mrs. Sally Graham
Mr. Michael Hankin Mr. Cecil Hengeveld ’64 Mrs. Stacey Shreiner Kley Ms. Caroline Buck Rogers The Rev. Edmund K. Sherrill II Mr. Bruce Wilson
turning lane on Valley Creek Boulevard would be necessary to comply with PennDOT design compliance standards (warrants). They used Bentley’s OpenRoads to design two candidate entrance roads and presented their work to CFS faculty in late December, as well as Michael Evans of Bentley and Neil Camens of Chester Valley Engineers. Camens concluded that the students’ design was very similar to his own firm’s findings.
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ur STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) program is in its fifth year, and students are loving it. In the past, math, science, art, physics and chemistry were separate disciplines. Today, students are bringing the skills they learn to design projects and problem-solve across disciplines. In addition to afterschool STEAM Clubs, including Robotics and an internship with our neighbor AGI (an aerospace software firm), Church Farm School offers a Technology and Engineering Design (TED) class to 9th graders, where they are introduced to coding. The new “Introduction to Engineering” course for 10th graders provides students with an authentic engineering experience by exposing them to professional simulation and analysis software.
The Intro to Engineering course is being bolstered by area businesses, who are donating both software and consulting expertise to the course: Exton-based Bentley Systems is providing free licenses for its OpenRoads software, AGI is providing educational licenses for its Systems Tool Kit (STK) software and McMahon Associates, Inc.’s Exton office and Chester Valley Engineers in Paoli have lent critical expertise to the students. During the first semester, students talked about roadway design, traffic density and the tools available for surveying traffic with McMahon Associates, who loaned the students an electronic counting board which they used to sample traffic at the intersection of Route 30 and Valley Creek Blvd.
The second semester of the Intro to Engineering course is the Campus Model project. The Scholler Foundation of Paoli and the VWR Charitable Foundation have funded the purchase of mini desktop computers and a drone imaging package, which students are using to perform aerial imaging of buildings on the CFS campus via a drone and use flight control software to plan an optimal flight path for the drone to image specific CFS buildings. The resulting images will then be processed on mini-desktop computers with Bentley Systems’ software to generate an integrated 3D model of each building. The models will be scaled to create a physical model of each building with the school’s existing 3D printers and software. According to STEM teacher Mr. Jeff Andrews, “CFS students may not have a relationship with an adult that has a high paying technical or engineering career. They may not have an understanding of what an engineer does. The Introduction to Engineering course is another in a sequence of courses within the STEAM department that endeavors to fill this void.”
Combining this data with traffic projections from a study (commissioned by CFS in 2015) provided all the inputs necessary for the class to analyze the need for a dedicated left turning lane to enter the campus. Using PennDOT’s Excel model, the students determined that a new 75-foot
Building STEAM: Connecting the Campus Plan Through Student Engagement 12
JOHN GRUNWELL ’60:
Funding the STEAM Dream John Grunwell ’60 has spent his entire life in the sciences: the son of a single mother who was a bacteriologist, he spent many days helping her in the lab; when not working the farm at CFS, he thrived as a chemistry student under Earl Wilkins ’26; studying at Penn, he returned to his alma mater as a helper in Wilkins classroom; at MIT, he realized he could obtain research independence if he became a university professor, which he did, teaching chemistry for 41 years at Miami University in Ohio. Since his retirement, Grunwell has been paying his passion forward to the Church Farm School STEAM program. He’s helped fund the purchase of new equipment and text books for science labs, donated money toward AP Chemistry exam fees and, most recently, supported the new “Trout in the Classroom” partnership, where students are hatching and raising trout in preparation for release this spring into the local Valley Creek. “From the time I was eight years old, I sometimes worked in my mother’s lab. I was turning stopcocks and filling test tubes with bile media used to test water for the presence of E. coli. At Church Farm School, my education began with Earl “Poss” Wilkins. One morning in chemistry class, we had a visitor from Rohm and Hass who explained how ion exchange resins worked to soften water. I raised my hand and asked if the resin could be revitalized by soaking the used resin in excess sodium chloride using the law of mass action. Poss said that was how water softeners worked and complimenting me for being insightful. Poss did not often compliment anyone. When he opened his mouth I was stunned and flattered. I also realized I was going to have a future in chemistry.” Grunwell’s long career as a teacher instilled in him the importance of encouraging future scientists. He says this is even more critical considering Church Farm School’s demographics, which are underserved and underrepresented. “Anything I can do within my means, whether helping procure new equipment or programs, is an important means of getting young men excited about science.”
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Building on Faith
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tudents and staff from wildly different backgrounds blend easily at Church Farm School. So what makes CFS “Episcopal”?
• As a boarding school, CFS offers a community setting in which students’ spiritual and emotional development as they seek to be their best selves is supported and nurtured.
Episcopal schools, according • Religious study is offered through the to the National Association of Episcopal World Religions Class in which all Schools (NAES), of which CFS Head of students learn the basics of many faith School The Rev. Ned Sherrill has recently traditions, fostering dialogue and finished his second two-year term as reflection. President, are “Christian communities whose missions • Through community service and service integrate spiritual learning, students translate their values formation into and demonstrate their potential to impact all aspects of the the broader community. educational experience.” He • The community partners with the adds that, “ImporEpiscopal Diocese of Pennsylvania to tantly, inclusivity support the Darby Mission in Darby, is a hallmark of PA, preparing and serving food at biEpiscopal schools.” monthly dinners for the residents of Darby, and in January, hosted a “CelebraAccording to tion of the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.” Rev. Sherrill, the for area school children. school’s embrace of Episcopal • For the second straight year, CFS parttenets empowers a nered with area churches, many student body of of them Episcopal, to package meals for differing religious, Rise Against Hunger. These churches economic and provided the funding necessary to cultural backgrounds. Here, Episcopalians, purchase meals, and the manpower to other Christians and non-Christians, and package, standing shoulder-to-shoulder people with no faith traditions, are knitted with our students, faculty and other into a diverse community that emphasizes friends. justice, brotherhood and mutual respect. Rev. Sherrill posits that, “Founded by a Church Farm School exhibits the hallmarks priest, The Rev. Dr. Charles Wesley Shreiner, of an Episcopal school in daily life: and nurtured by churches and generous Episcopalians for many years, Church Farm • School worship, including Wednesday School is and always will be ‘Episcopal.’” and Sunday chapel services, weaves He adds that, “At the same time, the school together traditional Episcopal worship is governed by an independent, ecumenical with liturgies inspired by students Board of Directors who have wholeand staff. The music of the school’s heartedly embraced its singular mission accomplished choir and historic organ of service.” enhance these gatherings.
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Planning Growth
Head of School Ned Sherrill announced in January the launch of a new strategic planning process that will chart the future of Church Farm School as it moves into its second century of inspiring boys and fulfilling dreams. Along with Bergamont Consulting, a planning team has designed a dynamic, transparent and inclusive process that will give members of the community the opportunity to share their perspectives and shape the plan. In addition to Mr. Sherrill, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee includes: • Alemayehu Addis ’97, Board Member, Alumnus • Diahann Hughes, Department Chair, Foreign Languages • Tom Johnstone ’09, Assistant Athletic Director, History Teacher, Cottage Faculty, Coach, Alumnus • Stacey Shreiner Kley, Board Secretary (committee co-chair) • Angie Pochuski, Assistant to Assistant Head of School • Tiffany Scott, Director of College Guidance (committee co-chair) The outcome of the process will be a vision statement for what Church Farm School seeks to achieve within the next five years, and the strategic focus areas, goals and strategies that will be implemented to achieve that vision. “The school’s 2011 strategic plan was instrumental in guiding the school’s progress in recent years, and I am confident that the plan resulting from this process will be equally purposeful in guiding our continuing progress. We anticipate having a draft plan ready for Board approval in October 2019,” says Sherrill.
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BUILDING OUR SECOND CENTURY ALUMNI WEEKEND • MAY 17-19, 2019 • CAMPUS MODERNIZATION GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY • ALUMNI FARM-TO-TABLE DINNER • HALL OF ATHLETIC HONOR INDUCTIONS • ALUMNI ATHLETIC COMPETITIONS • NEWT DISNEY SERVICE AWARD
WEEKEND AT-A-GLANCE FRIDAY, MAY 17 3:30 p.m. Campus Modernization Groundbreaking Ceremony 5:30 p.m. Student Piano and Voice Recital 6:00 p.m. Reception at Head of School Residence
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SATURDAY, MAY 18 10:30 a.m. Noon 2:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion Alumni Association Annual Meeting & Luncheon Alumni/Student Basketball Game Chapel Service with Presentation of Bibles to Class of ’69 Alumni Reunion Dinner • Reception • Dinner • Induction of Officers • Newton R. Disney Service Award • Hall of Athletic Honor Induction
SUNDAY, MAY 19 11:25 a.m. Noon 2:00 p.m.
Chapel Service Brunch CFS Band Concert
Register at gocfs.net/alumni-weekend!
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ur 101st year is filled with excitement about the future of Church Farm School, and the ways in which we continue to grow, both literally and figuratively. Alumni Weekend kicks off on May 17 with a groundbreaking ceremony for our campus modernization project which aims to create a safer, more unified campus through three major updates: a new entrance to the school from Valley Creek Boulevard, a unified Arts Center in the former transportation garage and a reconfigured Greystock Hall with more spaces for dining, collaboration and learning. We hope that many of you can join us for this exciting occasion where we will share our vision and honor those who have helped to make this milestone a reality. The Weekend will feature events Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon designed for CFS alumni to learn about the direction of the school, meet current students, faculty and administrators, celebrate their peers’ achievements and of course, spend time with their fellow alums. We hope you can join us for some or all of it!
the graves of the soldiers buried in Margraten, regularly visiting the graves and decorating them with flowers. ZHAOSEN GUO ’17 was
highlighted in Hamilton College’s summer publication for a research project he is conducting on the school’s first Chinese student, who enrolled in 1846. “It’s important for the student body and the Admissions office to know that Hamilton was one of the first higher education institutions in America to accept international students, especially from China,” says Zhaosen.
We received a message over the summer from a volunteer with the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, a US WWII cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands. She was looking for a photo of EUGENE CARTER ’34, an alum of our school who was killed in 1945 in Leipzig, Germany, while serving and is buried at the cemetery near Amsterdam. Every two years, the community pays tribute to the soldiers who helped liberate them during the “Faces of Margraten” ceremony. Since 1945, Dutch locals have adopted 18
LT COL (RETIRED) THOMAS PYLE ’53 and his
We were thrilled to welcome ROMANE PAUL ’06 back to campus in September as our esteemed Convocation speaker. After graduating from Church Farm School, Romane attended Swarthmore College (where he delivered the valedictory address), Hunter College and Columbia Law School (where he delivered the JD valedictory address). Romane is currently working as a litigation associate at Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York City. Romane and some of his classmates are planning to return to CFS this spring to host a panel for our juniors and seniors on the college experience.
Our annual ALUMNI SOCCER GAME vs. CFS students was held in early September, and we enjoyed spending time with our alums both on and off the field.
wife, Cheryl, traveled from their home in Franklin, North Carolina, to visit Church Farm School in late September. Tom sat down to share his experience at CFS, and how the discipline, hard work and faith instilled in him by the Colonel and others aided him when he was a POW for 6 ½ years during the Vietnam War. You can watch the interview on the CFS YouTube channel.
Another couple from Franklin, North Carolina, JOE MARSH, JR. and his wife, Fay, stopped by the school to share some memorabilia this fall. Joe’s father, Joseph Marsh, was in the school’s first graduating class—1923—and returned later in his life to serve the school as a carpenter. He passed away peacefully at the age of 92 in his son’s care. Joe brought a beautiful painting of the Chapel by a family friend with him as a gift to the school!
BART BRONK ’96 and CHAD SHREINER ’04 met
up in Nashville this fall to run their seventh half marathon (and thirteenth distance race, totaling 128 miles) together in the last six years. The friends and alums have traveled near and far for their hobby, to Ocean City, NJ (annually); Washington, DC; Key West; Bermuda; and Nashville. Chad’s father and third CFS headmaster, Terry Shreiner, was coming through Tennessee at the time and came by to cheer them on. Bart and Chad will be taking on the legendary and daunting Big Sur Marathon in April 2019!
The Sherrills and the CFS community welcomed alums KEITA ’10 AND KENNY ’09 RODGERS, along with their mother, Blanca, and cousin, Oshae, in October, who were in
town visiting their cousin Richie Jones ’20.
JOHN HASWELL ’64 of
Gainesville, Florida, participated with his sisters in the four-day Circleville Pumpkin Show, which drew 300,000 attendees and hosted seven parades. John’s grandfather, the former mayor of this Ohio town, founded the parade in 1911.
AGBOKA, ABDUL OGUNSANYA, WILL FERRER, JOEL RICHMOND AND TUMI TYNDALL—stopped
Griffin next year! Dylan graduated from Villanova last spring with a B.S. in computer science, and is currently working at SAP.
by this winter while on break from college to check out our Varsity Basketball team, who had an amazing season.
HARRY SHREINER,
During our December Dinner and a Basketball Game event, we helped to celebrate the 70th birthday of ED ZIEGENFUS ’59, who attended with his wife, daughter and granddaughter.
speaker at the second annual Leadership Seminar for 10th graders.
grandson of our founder’s brother, Ira, stopped by in January to say hello and look for archives featuring his father, who worked at CFS for 16 years before passing away in November 1932.
DAVID HATCHARD ’93 and his family recently received their British dual citizenship. Along with leading the design and construction of Apple Flagship stores in Europe, he has recently expanded to looking after projects in Asia.
CECIL ’64 AND PEGGY HENGEVELD, always
admired for their festive get-ups, enjoyed dressing up for a Bewitching Bash as a pirate and a hippie, respectively. Our annual Christmas Pageant performance drew a number of alumni back to campus, including DON BURT ’77, who attended with his son, Dalton.
HUDSON YOUN ’06 visited Church Farm School in late January during a vacation in New York City. Hudson attended CFS for six years, then studied at the University of Illinois before becoming a CPA. He currently works for KPMG in Pittsburgh.
DAMON CHARMAN ’92
and his new wife Aberdeen (pictured) welcomed a baby girl, Kristen Andrea Charman, who was born on October 22. Congratulations to the Charman family! In November, DYLAN LE ’14 attended our Admission Open House with his younger brother, Brandon, who is looking to become a
We were thrilled that a half-dozen members of the Class of 2018—among them COBY BRENNER (CLASS OF 2017), MACEO WHATLEY, JAMES MARTIN, BEN ARCHER, AARON
DOZIE MBONU ’88 visited the school on February 2 to participate in our Rise Against Hunger meal-packaging event, and then was the featured keynote
STEVE MARCUS ’73
visited CFS in January for the 32nd annual CFS Wrestling Invitational, where we he was warmly greeted by Varsity Wrestling Coach Art Smith and team captains Sebastian Corrales, Brian Valerio, Noel Gilgeous and Brandon Miller. Steve, who lives and works in NYC and also works as an NCAA referee, matched $5,000 in donations to our fundraising campaign to buy new uniforms and shoes for our wrestling team, which raised nearly $12,000 in total!
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BUILDING LEGACIES Church Farm School Remembers Sally and George Graham In September, the Church Farm School community mourned the passing of George Graham, a longtime friend of CFS through his beloved wife, Sally (Niness). In February, after quietly suffering through illness, Sally, one of the first female board members of the school, also passed away. Head of School The Rev. Ned Sherrill put it best in a message to the community: “There is some solace in knowing that she has rejoined her beloved George – true valentines to one another.” Sally joined the school’s Board of Managers in the late 1970s, a group of 50 women recruited to advocate in the community on behalf of Church Farm School, as well as help with events and
A TRIBUTE TO HAMPTON SCHOCH
IN MEMORIAM WITH DEEPEST RESPECT FOR THOSE ALUMNI WE LOST THIS YEAR CHARLES KRATZ III ‘64 ALLAN R. KUKLENTZ ’58 LESLIE PAUL ’63 HAMPTON SCHOCH ’38 WILLIAM SUTTON ’68
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If you watched our Centennial documentary, you may remember the film concluded with various alumni wishing the school a happy 100th birthday, including Hampton Schoch ‘38, who at the time, was 96 years old and our oldest alumnus. Schoch passed away on January 9, 2019, just a few months shy of his 98th birthday. Originally from West Philadelphia, Hampton and his older brother, George, were shuffled around to various relatives in their earlier years following their parents’ separation. The minister of the Episcopalian church where the siblings sang spoke with Church Farm School founder and headmaster The Reverend Dr. Charles Wesley Shreiner about the boys’ situation, and George was admitted in 1929. Four years later when Hampton was in 7th grade, he joined his brother at the school. Hampton remembers meeting “The Colonel” for the first time. “He said he’d be glad to take a chance on me,” said Hampton.
generally support the boys. She was elected their president in 1988, and when the group disbanded, she was elected along with Cannie Shafer as one of the school’s first female Board members. In 2005, CFS honored Sally with the prestigious J. Tyler Griffin Award for Excellence in Ambassadorship. After retiring from the Board, Sally remained active in school life; participating as a Griffin Scholar sponsor, co-chairing the 2014 Gala and volunteering at the annual CFS Golf Classic with George. The Grahams were so passionate about Church Farm School that Sally once joked that she and George contemplated divorcing so that their own son could attend. “We didn’t fit the mission, but we thought the world of the school.” Church Farm School thought the world of the Grahams.
“He was strict but fair. And he seemed to take a shine to me and my brother.” “When you first go to some place, you’re not used to being alone and away from your family,” he said. “As time went along, I realized what a great opportunity it was to get an education taught by good teachers. I don’t think I could have done any better than going to Church Farm School.
Building a Fundraising Legacy Through Planned Giving
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n his six years as Director of Development at Church Farm School, Peter Corrado successfully increased the school’s fundraising activity, visibility within the community and created new events and programs that enable the school’s donors to interact with the students whom they support. One program Peter has strongly championed is planned giving, also known as the Shreiner Society. Literally putting his money where his mouth is, Peter is also a member of the Society, which honors those who have made plans for the school in their will.
“There are so many ways that you can support Church Farm School. Whether it’s a straightforward bequest, long-term appreciated stock or securities, a life insurance policy that you no longer need or personal property including real estate, most of these gifts come at little personal cost but will be so impactful to the school,” Peter says. Peter has seen firsthand the good that can be done with planned giving. “There have been multiple occasions in my career where an individual who has supported an institution leaves a significant legacy gift that helps support the cause. One such gift was from Jean Hall, a longtime donor to CFS who left a large enough gift in her will that the school created an endowed professorship for a science
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teacher. She couldn’t have made this happen through making annual gifts but was able to use assets at death that were no longer needed and created a lasting and valuable legacy for the school. Most donors are able to give significantly more through this type of giving—one could even see making a gift that would endow their own annual contribution. As an example, if you are giving CFS $500 a year, a $25,000 gift in your will to the endowment fund will provide that gift to scholarship in perpetuity.” As the school says farewell and Godspeed to Peter, we thank him for the legacy he has created both at and for the school, and wish him the best in his retirement!
Shreiner Society Members Susan and Sam Ballam David Carroll ’62 Joanne and Mark Carroll Peter Corrado Dale Elks ’74 Priscilla Gabosch Eleanor and Dick Gherst Maricela Medina Kinue Perkins Dora and Rob Rogers Margie and Gordon Schleicher ’62 Jean and Lyle Schweitzer ’49 Nancy Spatz Vanessa and Paul Spear ’81 Sanna Steigerwalt Henderson Supplee III Pat and Christopher Washburn Ira Williams
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Church Farm School 1001 E. Lincoln Highway Exton, PA 19341 www.gocfs.net
NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE
PAID SOUTHEASTERN, PA PERMIT #2040
CFS
Saturday, April 27 at 6 p.m. The Farmhouse at People’s Light, Malvern, PA Support the unique mission of Church Farm School during this evening featuring:
Cocktail reception, plated dinner and dessert Networking with CFS faculty and friends A performance by the CFS Choir in anticipation of their June 2020 tour in Israel Live auction Learn more at gocfs.net/gala!
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