RHS Bulletin - Spring 2018

Rocky Hill School is On the Move!

made possible by:

James Tracy, Ph.D., Head of School

Beth DeGerlia P’16, ’19, Assistant Head of School for External Affairs

Art Entwistle IV, Athletic Director and Athletic Trainer

Meg Getsinger Visual Arts Department Chair

Mike Gwaltney, Head of Upper School

Peter Hanney P’23, ’27, Director of Communications and Marketing

Julie Hayes P’22, Parent Teacher League President

Liz Isdale P’16, ’22 Director of Alumni Relations and the Rocky Hill Fund

Pam Matson, Science Department Chair

Patty Pontarelli P’07, ’12, Head of Lower School

Diane Rich, Assistant Head of School for Internal Affairs

Belinda Snyman, Director of Strategic Partnerships

Meg Stowe, Director of Innovation

Sean Tinsley English Department Chair

Photography: Ruth Clegg; Peter Hanney P’23, 27;

Charlie Laurent P’21, ’26; Rob Lee P’22, ’24; Meg Stowe; Blue Wheeler. Cover photo: Charlie Laurent’s 4th grade students visited the RI State Archives to kick off their months-long PBL experience.

ROCKY HILL SCHOOL

530 Ives Road, East Greenwich, RI 02818

Rocky Hill School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, handicap, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its admission, financial aid, employment, educational policies, or other school programs.

HEAD OF SCHOOLmessage

LEGACY FAMILIES

While it has only been a year since I wrote my last introduction to The Bulletin, at Rocky Hill School we have journeyed a full light year!

Just looking over the table of contents for this edition logs a remarkable journey: the Center for Innovation, cybersecurity and coding, future of work and work force development, business development and school reform via the edtech sector, Innovator-in-Residence, Hackathon for Good, and ALEX AND ANI Artists-in-Residence.

This is not even an exhaustive list of the projects and programs you’ll read about in the pages to follow, none of which existed a year ago! What is more, many of these programs place Rocky Hill School at the forefront as a national leader in innovation. Perhaps most uniquely, they are also designed to touch and enrich every student’s learning experience at all grade levels.

We have also assembled a Dream Team to realize these innovative initiatives: Mike Gwaltney as Upper School Head, Meg Stowe as Director of Innovation, Martha Cunningham as Director of Technology, Susan Fonseca as permanent Innovator-in-Residence are just some of the new faces added since last year to further strengthen our extraordinary team of administrators, while several tremendous new teachers have joined our best-in-class faculty cadre, augmenting an already world-class team of educators.

Rocky Hill is an intentionally small school that is on the move in big ways, and this is making the Rocky Hill School experience the premier learning experience for students.

Enjoy reading about these and other exciting developments! And stay tuned for what is on the horizon for next year!

Back row: Left to right: Sam Weiler ’20 (Mary Lynne Kennedy ’80), Perry Clark ’19 (Richard Clark ’85), Max Lehouiller ’20 (Lia DiLeonardo Lehouiller ’90), Dylan Lehouiller ’21 (Lia DiLeonardo Lehouiller ’90). Front row: Left to right: Luke Lehouiller ’26 (Lia DiLeonardo Lehouiller ’90), Alex Lehouiller ’24 (Lia DiLeonardo Lehouiller ’90), Abby Millard ’27 (Jill Osowa Millard ’94), Eleanor Riley ’31 (Alyson Powell ’94), Charlotte Roch ’18 (Dawn Dunley ’83 and Ray Roch ’83), Charlotte Boss ’22 (Monica Iacono Boss ’91), Sydney Boss ’23 (Monica Iacono Boss ’91). Inset: Morgan Boss ’26 (Monica Iacono Boss ’91)

JAMES TRACY, PH.D., HEAD OF SCHOOL

WCortlandt Meyerson ’20 and Jim Tracy discuss the impact of technology on education with LearnLaunch co-founder, Hakan Satiroglu, at the 2018 LearnLaunch conference in Boston.

Read about Rocky Hill School's eight new Student Competencies on page 21.

New Board Members

Erica Gregg, Esq., along with her husband, Joe Tamburini, and their children Andrew ’22 and Cecelia ’25, joined the Rocky Hill School community in 2012.

Erica has been a class representative for the Parent Teacher League and has served as a co-chair for the Lower School Spring Family Dance and for the Spark Gala. Her previous board experience includes five years on the Board of Directors of Child & Family of Newport County, where she twice co-chaired the annual “Taste of Newport” fundraising event, as well as membership on the Boards of Directors of the Jamestown Historical Society and the Scituate Public Library.

Originally from Connecticut, Erica received her B.A. from Colby College (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude), and her J.D. from The University of Connecticut School of Law. As a business and transactional attorney practicing in the areas of corporate law and commercial finance, Erica has worked in both private practice for the law firms of Reid and Riege, P.C. in Hartford, CT and Hinckley Allen in Providence, as well as in-house as Division Counsel and Assistant Secretary for Textron Financial Corporation in Providence. She currently performs project work as a contract attorney and holds a Rhode Island Real Estate Broker’s license.

Erica is a member of the American Bar Association, the Rhode Island Bar Association, the National Association of Realtors, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, and Historic New England. She enjoys traveling, collecting art and antiques, and skiing in the mountains of Maine with her family. When not working or volunteering, she can likely

WHAT’S NEW?

be found on Rocky Hill’s athletic fields watching Andrew compete or at the horse barn watching Cecelia ride.

Alex Millard is the father of Abigail ’27 and Will (future Mariner), and the husband of Jill ’94, who is the Lower School’s PTL Representative and the Third Grade Parent Representative. Alex joined Rocky Hill School’s Board of Trustees in 2017 and serves on the Finance and Facilities & Grounds committees. Originally from New York City, Alex attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he and Jill met. After 15 years in Philadelphia, they relocated to Jill’s birthplace of Rhode Island in 2009.

Alex has 20 years of experience in the energy efficiency industry. In 2009, he joined NORESCO, which designs and builds large-scale energy efficiency projects that self-fund through their cost savings. As Business Development Manager, Alex oversees the acquisition of new contracts. Prior to NORESCO, Alex worked for several small businesses in Philadelphia, including his own company that specialized in optimizing commercial and industrial building energy performance.

Alex is the Chair of the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation, a non-profit that serves the needs of young people in the areas of early childhood development, literacy, and nutrition. The great-greatgrandson of the toy store’s founder, Alex oversees the Foundation’s operations and directs its unique two-year fellowship program that blends direct service and special project work for recent college graduates.

Alex is a lover of life’s simple pleasures. He is an avid cook, an enthusiastic traveler, and a committed summertime

2017 – 2018 Board of Trustees (as of 2/1/2018)

Donald McCaughey, President

Monica Iacono Boss ’91, Vice President

Stephen G. Soscia, Treasurer

Dr. Justine Johnson, Secretary

beach bum. He enjoys tending the family’s 600-square-foot organic vegetable garden during the summer months, and he and Jill continue the restoration of the family’s historic home in East Greenwich.

New Faculty

Rocky Hill School welcomed 16 new faculty and staff members for the 2017-2018 school year.

MOBILE APP CREATED

The new RHS mobile app, for both iPhone and Android devices, allows users to read school news, check athletic scores, communicate in team groups, find teacher contact information, and view school handbooks.

STUDENT COMPETENCIES

Eight Student Competencies— fundamental skills intentionally embedded in the curriculum to foster critical “soft skills”—were developed to distinguish Rocky Hill School from our peer schools, and to determine what mark we will we leave on our students, faculty, and community. (see page 21)

ENGAGING REAL WORLD EXPERTS

Rocky Hill School invites innovators from around the globe to engage our students across disciplines as they explore how these change-makers are creating impact in their field(s). Students across all divisions have the opportunity to work with these individuals throughout the duration of their visit as Innovators-inResidence. (see page 12)

This year, we welcomed the following experts in their field:

• Susan Fonseca: the School’s first and permanent Innovator-in-Residence

• ALEX AND ANI Design Team: Winter Artists-in-Residence

• Sproutel: Permanent Entrepreneurin-Residence

CHARMED

Visual art students were challenged to create 3D charm prototypes to reflect the School’s Student Competencies under the guidance of designers from ALEX AND ANI, an ecoconscious jewelry and accessories brand, headquartered in Cranston. The design challenge exposed the students to concept ideation, research, the design process, marketing, and rapid prototyping of the final products.

NEW ONLINE STORE

A new online store was launched for Mariner gear, including shirts, hats, jackets, and warm-ups. Visit www. rockyhill.org/store to check it out!

“THE CREW”

“The Crew,” the School’s new athletic and performing arts booster club, was formed in the fall of 2017 by the PTL and the Athletic Department. The booster group focuses on enhancing the following core areas: communication, school spirit and pride, community engagement, program advocacy, and fundraising.

NEW HIRES

Megan Williams of Goucher College was hired as Director of Athletics for 2018-2019. Art Entwistle IV will continue as Rocky Hill School’s fulltime Athletic Trainer.

Edwin J. Santos, Past President

Dr. Elizabeth Allen

Richard Clark ’85

Mitchell R. Edwards, Esq.

Mary H. Grant, Ph.D.

Erica Gregg

Alex Millard

Joan Osowa

Rocky Hill School sincerely thanks Gordana Novakovic-Petteruti P’09, ’13, ’17 for her many years of service to the School.

Gordana served as a Trustee from 2008-17 and is a parent to three Rocky Hill School graduates, Alina ’09, Robert ’13, and Anessa ’17 Read more about Gordana on page 31.

• Ana Bess Moyer Bell ’06 of C.O.A.A.S.T.: Spring Innovator-inResidence

PROMOTING THE #COMMONGOOD

Rocky Hill School is among the nation’s first schools to join a new campaign to prepare young people to be constructive community members who create a better world. Led by Harvard’s Making Caring Common project, the Caring Schools #CommonGood campaign aims to motivate schools to help mend our country’s fractures and strengthen democracy.

NEW PODCAST SERIES

The new iTunes podcast series Innovation Through Education, includes the series, Who’s Who 5Qs: Conversations with experts, hosted by kids. Through five questions, students ask leaders and innovators to share industry trends, their vision for the future, and advice for the next generation of leaders.

TERRAPINS HAVE HATCHED

After Dr. Laura Meyerson P’16, ’20 and her students at URI discovered 13 newly-hatched Terrapin turtles in September, they released all of them into the water. Rocky Hill’s Interact Club supported the Terrapin project by funding materials for cages, which protected the nesting sites from predators and will help keep the population going for many years.

GAGA BALL PIT CONSTRUCTED

Jan Cooney, of St. Mary AcademyBay View, was hired as the 2018-19 Director of Admission and Financial Assistance. Catherine Washburn will retire in June.

Mike Jedrey and the Class of 2022 built a gaga ball pit on the grass adjacent to the Garden Classroom. The gaga pit, with support from the Fall Classic, gives the Middle and Upper School students a place to burn off energy during mid-day breaks.

Back row (left to right): Rebecca Rabidoux, School Nurse; Mike Gwaltney, Head of Upper School; Tim Burns, Middle School Health & Physical Education; Wendy Gustavel P'29, Third Grade Teacher; and Martha Cunningham P'21, Director of Information Services. Front row (left to right): Ashley Lee P'22, First Grade Teacher; Meg Stowe, Director of Innovation; Brianna Runshe, Upper School Science; Jennifer Copeland, Upper School Spanish; Charlotte Buecheler, Middle and Upper School French; and Lauren Savoia, Middle and Upper School Art

Missy Walker Development Associate Kristine Waxman Controller

Julie Cox Strings Instructor Liz McClintick Middle School Science

"Citizen," the winning design by Stefania Andreev ’21

Ana Bess Moyer Bell ’06

building innovation

Rocky Hill School is an educational community made up of dedicated and innovative faculty and students. As a small school, we can be nimble and responsive to the needs and interests of our students and can readily adopt practices and pedagogies we deem important to the student experience. Our recent history points to the creation of the Flynn Academic Center; a commitment to studentcentered, discussion-based teaching around Harkness tables; and our early adoption of a 1:1 laptop program as examples of visionary and defining initiatives. These assets remain central components of a Rocky Hill School education today. But, what are the next steps for Rocky Hill School and how must education begin to change to best prepare students for a rapidly changing work environment?

The School recently completed a multi-constituent, think-tank initiative aimed at answering the questions, “In five years, how will we be distinguished among our peer schools? What mark will we leave on our students? Our faculty? Our community?” The answers to these questions resulted in many of the initiatives highlighted in this edition of The Bulletin: Student Competencies, LearnLaunch partnership, Innovator-inResidence program, student enrichment opportunities, and real-world projects. All of these are transformative programs that will impact the student experience and bring to the forefront skills such as communication, collaboration, critical and design-thinking, ethics, creativity, and global awareness, for example. In order

This is just the beginning of our efforts to reimagine how we prepare students for the rigor of college academics and the demands of personal independence

to strategically implement these programs, the School hired a Director of Innovation as well as an Innovator-in-Residence. Faculty have been engaged in professional development and piloting deeplearning, real-world projects. And, we are developing a new campus space, the Center for Innovation, to serve as our innovation hub.

The Center for Innovation will be located in the Pony Barn, a building that has not been in use for several years due to disrepair. This new space will provide a platform for our students, our faculty, and the brightest minds in edtech and education to converge on our campus in a meaningful and deliberate way. We aim to restore and reimagine this historic building which will house the following:

• Edtech Incubator Space

• Artist/Educator/Innovatorin-Residence Office

• Creativity and Enrichment Common Areas

• Director of Innovation Office

Rocky Hill School is the first K-12 school in the country to embed an edtech incubator on its campus. We are pleased to be collaborating with LearnLaunch, an established, earlystage edtech investor and company builder based in Boston (read more on page 12) and Social Enterprise Greenhouse (SEG) in Providence. While the entrepreneurs selected for the incubator program will enjoy a partnership that offers a unique school-to-business collaboration, the benefits to our school community are many:

• Internship opportunities for students in technology, business, entrepreneurism, etc.

• First adopter access to cuttingedge technology

• C ollaboration among faculty and innovators

• Adoption of a formal In-Residence program

• Enrichment programming for students

• Opportunity to act as a convener of educators who will help define the future of education

• Access to mentors guiding the edtech start-ups

With the support of the Director of Innovation, we have fostered new and exciting student enrichment opportunities:

• Working with visiting experts to include artists, innovators, educators, and designers

• Special projects, internships, and independent studies

• Off-campus workshops and conferences: DesignxRI, LearnLaunch Across Boundaries Conference, Women’s Summit at Bryant University

• C ollaborations with 17 incubator groups and entrepreneurs

• Interviewing thought leaders for the RHS podcast series, Innovation Through Education

This is just the beginning of our efforts to reimagine how we prepare students for the rigor of college academics and the demands of personal independence. We are committed to delivering a robust college-preparatory curriculum using innovative teaching methods and interactive educational experiences to ensure that students are prepared to lead and succeed in a future job market we have yet to imagine.

The Center for Innovation has entered into early construction phase. This summer we upgraded the septic system and in March we completed abatement and demo. Construction will begin in the summer and, based on funds raised, will be completed in early 2019. If you are interested in supporting this project as a donor or with your in-kind support, please contact Beth DeGerlia, Assistant Head of School for External Affairs, at bdegerlia@rockyhill.org or 401-884-9070 ext. 129.

BETH DEGERLIA P'16, '19, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

2017 Varsity Sailing: NESSA League; Coaches: Rob Lee, John Hughes

2017 Girls’ Varsity Field Hockey: 3-12-1 record; RIIL DII; Coaches: Traci Fairchild, Aura Rizzo, Trixie Webber Dumas ’81; Captains: Katlynn Conforti ‘18, Andrea White ‘18, Katia Mendez ‘18

2017 Varsity Tennis: 8-3 record; SENE; Coaches: Peter Barlow, Josh Schatz; Captains: Anessa Petteruti ’17, Hunter Gallant ’17

2017 Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse: 6-5 record; SENE; Coaches: Larry Medeira, Kurt Heise; Captains: Jamie Frost ’17 and Jonathan Liguori ’17; SENE Player of the Year: Jamie Frost ‘17

2017 Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse: 4-4 record; SENE; Coaches: Meg Getsinger, Aura Rizzo, Monica Iacono Boss ’91; Captains: Annie Coaty ’17, Deirdre Irvine ’17; SENE Player of the Year: Annie Coaty ’17

2017 Drama: Instructor, Emily Serotta; Performances: The Crucible (2017); The Drowsy Chaperone (2017); Into the Woods (2018)

2017-18 Individual Swimmers: RIIL; Coach Mark Kiely; Swimmers: Jacob Pogacar ‘19 and Cortlandt Meyerson ‘20

2017 Varsity Golf: 3-6 record; 2017 SENE Championship Runner-Up; Coaches: Mark Buckley, Sean Tinsley; Captain: Benjamin Hernowitz ’17

2017 Boys’ Varsity Soccer: 5-7-3 record; SENE; Coaches: Josh Schatz, Kurt Heise; Captain: Andrew Zito ’20

2017 Girls’ Varsity Soccer: 3-4 record; SENE; Coaches: Byron Lind, Jennifer Copeland; Captains: Ptolemy Tassone ’19, Brianna Segerson ’18, Avery Chen ’18

2017 Varsity Cross Country: SENE; Coaches: Sean Tinsley, Jessica Russell; Captains: Hannah WahlDunnigan ’18, John Bergstrom ’19, Esteban Wu ’19

2017-18 Boys’ Varsity Basketball: 18-4 record; SENE League and Tournament Champions, NEPSAC Class D Finalist; Coaches: Nuri MahMoud and Andrew Washburn; Captain: Steven Lora ‘19

2017-18 Girls’ Varsity Basketball: 3-12 record; Coaches: Bert DeSalvo and Kurt Heise; Captains: Andrea White ’18, Katlyn Conforti ’18, and Ptolemy Tassone ’19

WOMAN OF many talents

BELINDA SNYMAN, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

A woman of many talents, Martha Cunningham P’21, has come to her current role through some interesting twists and turns. Her path took its first diversion in college where she was studying English and found herself drawn to technology along the way. From the outset, Martha’s career was firmly fixed on education, whether teaching network design and management, creating custom curriculum for a corporate project, or showing kindergarteners how to give instructions to a robot. Teaching, inspiring, and helping others are at the heart of all Martha does.

A technology field professional for over 20 years, Martha holds Microsoft, Novell, and Cisco certifications, and has worked as a certified trainer, systems architect, and systems engineer. Looking for a career change, Martha made the switch to independent education, becoming the Director of the Annual Fund at Sandy Spring Friends School in Maryland. Her love of technology prevailed and she seized the opportunity to become the school’s Director of Technology, introducing a 1:1 iPad program, a learning management system, digital citizenship as part of the advisory program, and creating a schedule and capital budget for infrastructure maintenance.

Martha’s move to Maret School in Washington, D.C. presented her with an opportunity to build a technology education program that encompassed computer science, digital citizenship, and digital literacy. She also authored a Technology Strategic Plan for Maret, and introduced a MakerSpace in the curriculum with an eye toward infusing technology in an intentional manner. With the family’s desire for a change in lifestyle, Martha found and began the next phase in her professional journey: Director of Information Systems at Rocky Hill School.

It is not without some irony to learn that Martha is not a fan of the cold (especially when we consider Rhode Island to have experienced its most frigid winter in years!) and that her first purchase was a snowblower—a fortuitous move, indeed. The family have enjoyed their roles as tourists, are amused at the proximity of almost everything, and have learned an entirely new vocabulary that includes doughboys, quahogs, rotaries, and wicked, just to name a few. One of the greatest joys of her move is her home with a view of Greenwich Bay.

What drew Martha to Rocky Hill School, in particular? Enticed by the offer to play a role in the School’s innovative vision, and team up

with a like-minded group of leaders and faculty in preparing students for a complex and unpredictable world, Martha found a niche for her distinctive skill set and experience. She is committed to preparing students for tomorrow’s technology and has identified cybersecurity, an essential life skill for adolescents and adults alike, as a priority.

“Just as everyone needs to manage their bank account, managing one’s online identity and profile is important. While cybersecurity has been viewed as a world of technological spies and hacks, it is more about privacy and protection. Teaching students how to manage their online profile, the services they use, and their online data is a task that I take very seriously. Building upon this foundational knowledge, we can help students see the importance of their role in managing our technologically dependent world. It is their insight and moral leadership that will make a positive difference for all of us.”

Martha, like her partners in education, finds herself reflecting on the unknown that is our future, questioning the role of artificial intelligence and robots, and the evolving definition of work:

“How are we equipping our students to walk into the mist of the unknown? There must be a willingness to undertake a project or lesson not knowing how it will proceed. Given this notion, how, then, are we preparing our teachers to walk into the mist of the unknown?”

This generation of students is eager and unafraid, while adults often exhibit misgiving and reserve.

“It is the vigor of youth that blazes onward and the caution of adulthood that makes us pause. It is the intersection of these approaches that can facilitate deep, intentional learning and discovery, leading to the application of knowledge to areas and fields that don’t yet exist.”

As Rocky Hill School embraces technological change, our community is privileged to have Martha leading the way.

BRINGING THE Outside In

There is a buzz radiating from Sue Eaton’s math room on a Wednesday as two entrepreneurs engage in deep conversation with students enrolled in Entrepreneurial Studies: Using financial modeling to predict viability and sustainability of a social or edtech venture. Open enrollment seemed to be the norm, as students, not technically enrolled in the class, lingered outside or showed up to join in on the conversations and to learn from these engaging entrepreneurs.

When Rocky Hill School partnered this fall with the premier Bostonbased edtech accelerator company LearnLaunch, the learning experiences for our students proved numerous, with impact in every area of a child’s growth and development. This approach, to invite the real world into our educational environment, has amplified the impact for our students, moving from theoretical and simulation, to authentic, creationbased, purpose-driven learning. As we endeavor to develop students who are navigators in their learning, critical thinkers, active citizens, and effective communicators who are selfaware, globally minded, ethical, and innovative, we must engage them with people working on real solutions to actual local or global problems.

Innovation is first, and foremost, a mindset. Innovation relies on a set of skills and practices which emphasize curiosity, close observation, creativity, and inquiry, rather than discrete knowledge learned for the sake of recall or test taking. The tight connection to the application of new knowledge across all disciplines fosters intrinsic motivation and innovative thinking. What will our students do with what they know? How will they use deep

knowledge of biology or art to impact a community, a cause, or the world?

To understand what this means, our students only need to look to the innovators they have the opportunity to meet on our campus. Whether this is through our Innovator-InResidence program, embedding a variety of artists or industry innovators into our classrooms, or giving real-time feedback to edtech and social entrepreneurs working to impact education, our community is immersed in these critical mindsets. What is emerging from inviting these change-makers into our community to work alongside our faculty and students is both powerful and palpable, and this impact can be measured.

Students are impacting the trajectory of the individuals with whom they are collaborating to solve social or economic challenges locally, as well

Students are impacting the trajectory of the individuals with whom they are collaborating to solve social or economic challenges locally, as well as globally

as globally. This was evident when Marissa Di Pasquale, founder of Cashtivity, one of our edtech partners, brought her real-world experiences to our 5th, 6th, and 8th grade classrooms. With the leadership of Theresa Conroy and Caity MacDonald P’32, both veteran math teachers, the students explored the challenges designed to uncover critical mathematical functions embedded within the realworld challenge. Ms. MacDonald reflected that, “Having access to these innovators is essential for them and for us. It provides us, as educators, different

ways to help our students access our curriculum, and for students, it introduces them to people that have made an idea to come to life.” In this same class, students could be heard exclaiming, “Now I know why we do this in math!”

Bringing innovators into our classrooms to work alongside students makes perfect sense and the value goes well beyond the new technology or tech tool they are creating. Our students are able to engage in authentic experiences which help them develop both the mindsets and skillsets needed to create impact, in real time. Bringing our students to real-world learning opportunities means inviting them to create, convene, and collaborate. From our student-hosted podcast series titled Engaging Tomorrow’s Leaders: Conversations with Experts, Hosted by Kids, to the collaboration with our Artists-in-Residence program with the ALEX AND ANI design team, students are learning by doing. Here is where students develop grit, become comfortable with ambiguity, and become less fearful of failure.

To illustrate the impact of these collaborations, walk into Wendy

Gustavel’s third grade classroom. As these young learners are studying the United Nations’ Global Goals for Sustainable Development, students are exploring ways to engage their community around two of the goals: Gender Equality and Health and Wellbeing. To better understand these problems, they convened Sproutel’s co-founder Hannah Chung and inventor Dr. Amy Baxter. Sproutel develops educational products such as Jerry the Bear and My Special Aflac Duck, which assist children and families experiencing health concerns. Dr. Baxter created Buzzy, a non-opioid pain management device used in hospitals and clinics globally. In this collaborative work session, Ms. Gustavel’s students acquired new knowledge, asked critical questions, and created their own prototypes, receiving feedback from real-world industry innovators. This experience not only enabled them to be active learners and creators, but is also resulting in a schoolwide collaboration to develop a new prototype Sproutel will be working on in the coming year. Hannah Chung has also joined the School as our permanent Entrepreneur-InResidence.

At Rocky Hill School, we are bringing the outside in; working to bring real-world experiences directly to our students. Collaborating with experts working to address actual problems, which rely on deep understandings across multiple disciplines, allows students to uncover the intrinsic motivation for the rigorous work required to positively impact the world. This combination of bringing the outside in, as well as bringing the learning happening inside our classrooms to the outside world, is a critical focus of the Center for Innovation as we move into a period of exponential change across all industries and academic pursuits.

Upper School students generating meaningful learning with Clemens Grave, founder of Finnest, while developing his mobile banking app designed for kids.

Wendy Gustavel’s third grade students prototype their solutions with real-world experts.

3D projects in action in the Middle School.

Student ART

Our Visual Arts curriculum shows breadth in cultural context, art history, and contemporary art. Problem solving and creative learning encourages students to connect visual knowledge to other subjects and respond with originality, understanding, flexibility, and imagination. Art is a vehicle for expression of individual thought and therefore, students are encouraged to draw inspiration from daily life and draw connections to other subjects, connecting them more deeply to their work.

Hannah Wahl-Dunnigan ’18

Siyue (Helen) Pan ’19

Cole Larimer ’20

Ruochen (Scarlett) Shen ’18

Graydon Sumrall ’19

Elsa Block ’20

Katia Mendez ’18

Brandon Gregory ’18

Emily Atanasoff ’19

Nick McConnell ’20

FACULTY PROFILE

BREAKING theRules

SEAN TINSLEY, ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CHAIR

It’s mid-afternoon on a Tuesday in December, and the campus is blanketed with the first snow of the season and a low-hanging fog that stretches to the Potowomut River. Inside the Flynn Academic Center, a few students adorned in scarves and boots are studying for tomorrow’s English mid-term. Mike Gwaltney’s office is warmly lit and welcoming.

oh my gosh, they probably have four seasons. And so I got here and Rhode Islanders started telling me there’s only three seasons.” He is referencing that New England phenomenon where winter seems to stretch into June.

“I was born into one season. In Portland they have two. And here they say there’s only three,” he says with a laugh.

Like many in independent school education, Gwaltney has a history of coaching teams and teaching classes. (Soccer and government are his forte.)

Unlike many, however, he started his career as a college student. His first gig was at Servite High School, an allboys Catholic school in Anaheim, as a freshman soccer coach.

“I would come to campus every day at 3:00, coach the team, and then go home to go to bed. The next morning, I would go to class, and then at the end of the day, drive over to Servite and coach. The following September, I was teaching five sections of Ancient History and coaching varsity soccer.”

In his first year of coaching, he led his team to an undefeated season. In his second year, while teaching five sections of history, his team advanced to the Southern California state championship playoffs. Winning at that stage is impressive for a seasoned coach, much less a person one-year removed from undergraduate studies at the helm.

Pointing to a picture of his team after winning one of the playoff games, Gwaltney says, “In a place where there’s never any change in weather, wouldn’t you know that it was pouring rain for three straight days. We played in basically a mud bowl as opposed to a soccer game. It was so epic.”

Remnants of such a philosophy are already in place at the Upper School. From the “mindfulness room” that sits in the back of Flynn, to the “Wall of Awesome” in the Nautilus which boasts anonymous compliments for students and faculty alike, and from the eight Student Competencies driving pedagogy to the Project Based Learning strategy in service of those competencies, his finger prints are bringing to fruition Rocky Hill’s pledge to be the most innovative school in the state.

Deferring credit, Gwaltney assures that he is but a member of a team that makes the Upper School go each day.

“I am really excited about the enthusiasm that the adults and the students have about being here,” he says. “We’ve got excited students. We’ve got a committed faculty. People put in the hours. Tara Dowling comes in on weekends. All through the holidays, she’s got things on her calendar. College counseling on the day before Christmas with Tara! This kind of stuff is just amazing to me.”

A self-described extrovert and “big coffee drinker,” Gwaltney can be seen working at a standup desk with a big thermos of coffee. A running and biking enthusiast, he also stays active before work. And his morning routine includes ten minutes of mindfulness, a habit he began on a retreat with a Buddhist monk. (Two pieces of artwork in his office are from Thich Naht Hanh, whom he considers a friend.)

Gwaltney, who comes to Rhode Island by way of Portland, Oregon, looks out his window.

“I spent the first forty years of my life in Los Angeles with the exception of two years in Colombia,” says Gwaltney. He is referencing a brief period of time when his family relocated to South America for “dos años.”

“When you live in LA, you never think about weather because every day, it’s seventy degrees and sunny. So the first thing I thought when I was moving was,

Around campus, Gwaltney has accrued a reputation as a visionary, dedicated to cultivating a learner-friendly environment above all else. He is a student of classical education, but passionate to traverse new frontier. And his true north is doing what is best for kids.

“I actually don’t really like it when kids follow the rules too much. Thank goodness that Dr. King was not a rule follower. Thank goodness that the women who fought for and won the right to vote weren’t rule followers. I want my career to have been about teaching kids to have the empathy for others that is required to make the world a better place for everyone. I don’t think that happens by following rules.”

One thing has been consistent since his arrival, however: an unwavering excitement for Rocky Hill School. He already has much on his mind for next year, including an event where students could show off their learning, tentatively titled Learning Showcase Night. He passionately describes the guest list; “We’ll invite everybody: parents, relatives, dogs, cats, all the ships at sea. Come and see the great learning that has happened here on campus.”

Gwaltney eases back in his chair, his excitement giving way to a moment of introspection. “If I had gone to Rocky Hill in 2021, I would have been really eager to demonstrate citizenship. I’m really interested in helping create opportunities for students to develop a kind of empathy that’s needed to be a good citizen.”

A bright future is in store for Rocky Hill's Upper School students with Gwaltney at the helm.

PROJECT NAME: IMMIGRATION

Student Group: Upper School French III

Driving Question: How can we share the stories of Francophone immigrants and better understand the challenges that come with leaving one’s home country?

Key Components:

Real WORLD LEARNING

PROJECT NAME: CARETAKERS OF HISTORY

Student Group: 4th Grade

TThis has been an exciting year in so many ways! One specific area we want to highlight is an expansion in our instructional approach. Focusing on learning by doing, teachers have been more purposefully designing projects, engaging students in important content through real-world components, lending authenticity, student choice, and reflection to the student experience. Rather than learning skills in isolation, projects embed them into meaningful research, connections with real experts, use of authentic tools, and public presentations or products. The projects have centered around both local and global concerns, and serve as natural opportunities for students to develop the eight Student Competencies. Take a look at what’s been happening, and then check out the videos on our website which more fully capture these enriching experiences!

Driving Question: How can we, as junior historians and caretakers of history, learn, preserve, and raise public awareness for the historical and cultural wealth of North Kingstown’s historic Smith’s Castle?

Key Components:

• Using primary and secondary sources as well as experts in the field, learners worked in small groups as well as independently to research the rich history of Rhode Island with special emphasis on early settlers, Roger Williams and Richard Smith Jr., as well as the Narragansett Tribe and its Chief, Canonicus (1600 and 1700s).

• Working closely with members of Smith’s Castle, the Cocumscussoc Association, and other learneridentified experts, children identified ways to serve as “caretakers of history” by designing a method of giving back to this historically significant landmark while also creating a way to share their knowledge with others within the Rhode Island community.

• Serving as the subjects for documentary films and a podcast by the Upper School Journalism class Skills & Content Learned: Research, collaboration, public speaking, local history, web design, literacy skills.

Products: A trunk show presented to North Kingstown AP History students; three teams of learners presented products (web pages, newspaper article, engaging activities for children) to representatives from Smith’s Castle and the Cocumscussoc Association.

Real World Connections:

• Partnering with Upper School students

• Interviewing experts at Smith’s Castle including Margaret Skenyon, Denise Boule, Robert Grousse, Robert Geake, and Anne Casey as well as the Cocumscussoc Association

• Meeting with Lane Sparkman and Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea

• Researching the state archives with the assistance of RI Head Archivist

Ken Carlson

PROJECT NAME: DOCUMENTING THE CARETAKERS OF HISTORY

Student Group: Upper School Journalism students

Driving Question: How can we, as journalists, investigate cool stuff happening in our classrooms and broadcast this news to the greater school community?

Key Components:

• Visiting and observing 4th grade class conducting the “Caretakers of History” project

• Documenting the 4th graders’ trunk show presentations to the North Kingstown AP History class

• Researching investigative reporting, mixed media broadcast journalism, and interview protocol

• Interviewing the 4th grade students about the process

Skills & Content Learned: Research, collaboration, interviewing, filmmaking, podcasting.

Products: Video news stories, podcast.

Real World Connections:

• Partnering with 4th grade students and high school students at another school

• Interviewing experts at Smith’s Castle including Margaret Skenyon, Denise Boule, Robert Grousse, Robert Geake, and Anne Casey as well as the Cocumscussoc Association

• Meeting with Lane Sparkman and Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea

• Researching the state archives with the assistance of RI Head Archivist Ken Carlson

• Presenting news stories before a live audience and conducting a Q and A session

PROJECT NAME: RHS IMPACT

Student Group: 5th Grade

Driving Question: How can we, as fifth graders, improve the Rocky Hill School community?

Key Components:

• Brainstorming ideas for improvement, interviewing faculty to gather ideas, and writing a persuasive letter to the Head of School

• Analyzing ideas as a group in order to move forward to the proposal stage

• Meeting with a community development expert, Kristin Urbach ’87, Executive Director of the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce, to learn about steps in the process of creating and presenting a proposal

• Developing a proposal and presenting it to the RHS administrative team and other members of the community who were involved in their topic

Skills Learned: Interviewing, persuasive writing, public speaking, collaboration, critical analysis, research skills.

Products:

• Persuasive letter written to Dr. Tracy

• Four teams developed a proposal on their topic for an improvement to Rocky Hill School’s campus

Real World Connections:

• Meeting with community expert, Kristin Urbach ’87, Executive Director of the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce

• Interviewing faculty and staff

• Presenting to the administration at Rocky Hill School

• Researching a Francophone country

• Meeting and interviewing immigrants from Francophone countries about their experience as immigrants

Skills & Content Learned: Research, speaking and listening in French, interviewing, collaboration, critical analysis, video making, public speaking.

Products:

• A short documentary compiling the various interviews conducted and presenting facts about immigration and the challenges immigrants face

• A fundraiser to support the organization Women’s Refugee Care and a presentation to the community about what is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Real World Connections:

Authentic audiences:

• Interactions with Francophone people from Morocco, the DRC, and France

• Presentation of product to the community

• Visit to the Women’s Refugee Care in Providence, meeting with the founders of the organization, its members (all refugees from the DRC), and the current State Refugee Coordinator Frederick Sneesby

Authentic current issues:

• Helping refugees

• War in the DRC and its ramifications

• Immigration

DIANE RICH, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR INTERNAL AFFAIRS

Since September, the Parent Teacher League has been working hard to foster community and increase support for the faculty and staff at Rocky Hill School. Our dedicated team of representatives has worked diligently to share information about important events and activities happening at the School, and to encourage families and friends to attend.

We are happy to report that we have had tremendous participation so far this year. All of our PTL meetings have been well attended, and the evening All School Meeting with childcare was very well received! The Fall Classic Golf and Tennis Tournament and Dinner Auction was particularly successful this year due mainly to the incredible number of sponsors, auction donors, players, dinner guests, committee members, and volunteers who generously gave in support of this event. Homecoming was also a great success, as were many other events including GrandFriends’ Day, Teacher Appreciation, and World Cultures Week. None of these events would be possible without your kind support.

As PTL President, I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend a school concert, play, sports game, art show, morning coffee, parent night, ceremony, or presentation. I also want to thank current parent and Chair of the newly formed Booster Club, Chris Cote P’21, ’23, for the increased community spirit around athletics and the arts. If you have volunteered your time to help organize an event in any capacity, thank you! The PTL relies heavily on volunteerism to get things done. So, as we continue on through 2018, I strongly encourage you to be involved at Rocky Hill in any way that suits your family. It is a rewarding experience that enhances your child’s education and positively impacts the future of Rocky Hill School. When we lead by example and show our children that giving back is important, we certainly inspire them to be thoughtful citizens and future leaders.

Milestones & Farewells

Every June, the faculty and staff join together to celebrate the year and each other. Faculty and staff who celebrate five-year milestones are acknowledged. In addition, we recognize those faculty and staff members who have retired or decided to move on to new adventures. In 2017, we honored the following people.

MILESTONES

2012-2017 (5 YEARS)

Stephanie Cruff (Second Grade Teacher)

Darshell Silva (Technology Integration Specialist, Librarian)

2007-2017 (10 YEARS)

Arthur Entwistle IV (Director of Athletics, Athletic Trainer)

Robert Lee (Social Sciences Department Chair, Upper School History)

Nancy Maguire-Rambo (Lower and Middle School Spanish)

Eric Wyzga (Lower School Science)

2002-2017 (15 YEARS)

Liz Isdale (Director of Alumni Relations and the Rocky Hill Fund)

1997-2017 (20 YEARS)

Maureen Fahey (Mathematics Department Chair, Upper School Mathematics Teacher)

FOND FAREWELLS

Rochelle Devault, Upper School Science (2013-2017)

Ashley Ferranti, Modern and Classical Languages Department Chair (2016-2017)

Krista Haskell, Director of Counseling and Wellness (2010-2017)

Craig Mudie, Upper School Spanish (2016-2017)

Margo Ott, School Nurse (2014-2017)

Doug Poskitt, Head of Upper School, Upper School History (2008-2017)

Claire Wiley, K-2 Teacher (2013-2017)

Jacqui Yamada, Development Relations Manager (1998-2017)

The Student COMPETENCIES

How do successful and content people behave? How will work change in the 21st century? What will those jobs look like and what skills will they require? Does the unpredictable future that awaits today’s students require schools to take a different approach?

Rocky Hill School has always educated children robustly, graduating young people who are knowledgeable, selfaware, and committed to making a difference in their communities. But does imagining the dynamic changes our students will face cause us to rethink what our focus should be? As we looked to answer these questions, we ultimately arrived at eight Student Competencies we determined critical to the student experience.

Navigator You are curious and self-directed, approaching learning with nimbleness, adaptability, perseverance, and resilience.

Critical Thinker You ask meaningful questions, develop important knowledge, and use research, analysis, and interpretation to evaluate evidence, arguments, and beliefs.

Citizen You are a responsible and engaged member of your community, and seek ways to lead and model good citizenship through kindness and respect for others, in physical and digital domains

Communicator You are a poised and resourceful communicator, able to skillfully express yourself in many modalities for a variety of audiences.

Globally-Minded You value diversity and different perspectives, understand global issues, and approach the world with an open mind.

Ethical You act with honesty, integrity, and a focus on social responsibility.

Self-Aware You are confident in your personal strengths, attentive to your needs, empathetic to others, and honor your health and well-being.

Innovative You are a bold thinker, generating new and creative ideas, and willing to take risks to solve complex problems, individually and as part of a group.

JULIE HAYES P’22, PTL PRESIDENT

Diane Rich, Assistant Head of School for Internal Affairs and Mike Gwaltney, Head of Upper School

The 2017-2018 PTL Leadership

The Student COMPETENCIES

As a professional recruiter for the nonprofit sector, I spend my days talking with clients about the competencies they are looking for and with candidates about the competencies they offer. Over the years, I have seen firsthand that hard skills can be learned on the job, but curiosity, collaboration skills, grit, and other “softer” skills are much harder to come by. Yet, these are the attributes that every one of my clients wants in the employees they hire, regardless of the role they are looking to fill. The most in-demand candidates are those who understand how to lead teams to successful outcomes, have experience dealing with failure in a positive way, and have proven their ability to bring creative, out-of-the-box solutions to challenges they have faced. In short, it’s what allows them to be leaders. I’m convinced that Rocky Hill School, by providing students with opportunities to learn and model these behaviors in a variety of ways throughout their days, is setting them up for success in whatever professional path they may choose.”

Erin Reedy, P’22, ’23, ’25, Vice President, Executive Search Koya Leadership Partners

These questions fueled the discussions of our “Vision Quest”—the process to determine the future direction of the School—through the 2016-2017 school year and into the summer. Members of the Board, faculty, staff, parents, and students considered what skills and habits of mind would best serve our students as they embark on their futures. Whether it’s Harvard education and economics professor David Deming telling us that “jobs requiring both the so-called soft skills and thinking skills have seen the largest growth in employment and pay in the last three decades,” or college admissions officers such as those from Trinity College looking for evidence of “curiosity, empathy, openness to change, and ability to overcome adversity,” research shows that personal development, the “soft skills” Deming refers to, is really the essential quality desired. So as the landscape of university life and the world of work has shifted in the 21st century, Rocky

Hill School is shifting its program ever so subtly to maintain its track record of excellence.

Through a process that was both inductive and deductive—internal conversations were combined with outside expertise—we arrived at the Rocky Hill School “Student Competencies.” Many of these attributes are not new for Rocky Hill School students, but we have expanded upon them and brought them to the forefront so that they will drive our curriculum and instruction. How will we help students become navigators of their worlds? Encourage them to stretch their creativity through innovation? Support them as they deepen their resilience and self-awareness? More than ever, today’s students must be prepared to enter a world where the road to success is ever-changing, and the tools needed along the journey are somewhat different.

As the director of college counseling, I spend a lot of time researching colleges: their mission, programs, and admission requirements. There is a tremendous appreciation for what the Rocky Hill curriculum provides to students and it overlaps considerably what colleges increasingly are asking of their own graduates.

A Rocky Hill graduate who clearly demonstrated the capacity to be a navigator, critical thinker, citizen, and communicator, who is innovative, self-aware, ethical, and globally minded would be a strong candidate for any liberal arts college or university. I was struck by how well aligned Rocky Hill’s student competencies are with the essential capacities expected of all Smith College graduates: the ability to draw upon and convey knowledge; the ability to engage across difference in place, culture and time; creativity, curiosity and innovation; critical and analytical thinking; resilience and resourcefulness; and self-awareness as a learner.

Secondary and higher education prepares students for life and citizenship. In an increasingly interdependent world it is critical that we prepare young people to navigate across disciplines in a creative and ethical manner to address the complex problems before us.

Rocky Hill has clearly embraced this imperative, and I look forward to meeting future Rocky Hill graduates who are prepared to take on the challenges before them.”

Audrey Smith, Vice President for Enrollment Smith College

As a Rocky Hill School student, you are a bold learner, prepared to navigate a complex and changing world. Through diverse and engaging educational experiences, you will hone these critical skills to prepare you for college and for life.

During World Cultures Week, the Middle School partnered with Newport-based PhilAm group who collaborated with the Baptist Missions of America to provide medical supplies and clothing to the Philippines. The National Junior Honor Society members spent their March break holding bake sales to raise money for the Baptist Mission. In addition to their donation of gratitude to the PhilAm for their assistance and week-long presence during World Cultures Week, the Middle School raised $513 for the Philippine Mission.

Students in Caity MacDonald’s fifth grade visited Welcome House in South Kingstown to deliver baked goods and learn about the work done there with the local homeless population. The visit was related to the students’ math and service learning PBL experience.

Over the March break, Ming Shen and Michael Chatterley accompanied eight Upper School students on a two-week excursion through China. The trip opens future opportunities for other Rocky Hill School language students to visit other countries.

Sally Kenyon Grant ’87 and Derrick Maloney ’87 volunteer to support innovation initiatives at the School. Sally is designing a new three-part cybersecurity speaker program. The three-part series, set to launch in October, will focus on safe computing, digital citizenship, and the future of cyber technology. Sally has visited RHS to share her expertise and is inviting an impressive list of industry experts to present for the program. She also secured a speaker from Dell for the North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce Business Summit hosted at Rocky Hill in March and organized by classmate and Executive Director Kristin Urbach ’87.

Derrick Maloney ’87 has been volunteering over the last year as the architect for the Pony Barn which is being renovated into the Center for Innovation (See page 6.) This important initiative will return the Pony Barn to a vibrant space for learning.

Derrick’s goal is to maintain the historic beauty of the building while bringing new functionality to the space. His design ideas and construction knowledge, combined with his institutional knowledge of the School, have proven invaluable.

SALLY KENYON GRANT ‘87

Vice President, Point3 Security, Inc. Wheaton College, BA Political Science

Sally is a vice president at Point3 Security, an organization working to raise the standards in government, corporations, schools, and communities when teaching cyber security and defense. She is focused on creating policy and awareness around cyber security, coding, youth training, and future workforce development. Previously, Sally served as a director at Comtech Telecommunications and was a Senior Congressional and White House Liaison for the Department of Business. Sally’s government relations career expands over 20 years, serving in the Obama and Clinton White Houses, Congresswoman Claudine Schneider’s office, and the lobbying firm Cassidy & Associates. She holds volunteer positions with the American Diabetes Association, the Mount Washington Improvement Association, and the Women in Government Relations organization in Washington. DC. Sally and her husband, Rob, have two children, John and Sophie.

Share one fond memory from your time as a Rocky Hill School student.

My fondest memory was being invited to the beautiful Hopelands living room with Headmaster Flynn to meet the Wheaton College Admissions Counselor. I knew at once this was the women’s college for me! In fact, I applied early decision and received my Letter of Acceptance from Wheaton during Christmas break. Not only did I get into Wheaton, but my college career flourished beginning with a Congressional internship in Washington, DC with Representative Claudine Schneider and ending with my impactful Commencement speech with Governor Weld of Massachusetts.

Tell us about life after Rocky Hill School.

I spent an amazing four years at Wheaton College studying political science and traveling to DC to learn about our federal legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government during my “Semester Away Program” at American University. Those experiences set me on a path to settle in the DC area and begin my career.

You are focused on giving back to RHS; what inspires you to do that?

I believe we each have the strength, determination, and dedication to empower the next generation and bring planetary sustainability to the world.

Rocky Hill School is engaging in innovative programs and teaching that you are supporting. What intrigues you about the School today?

Rocky Hill School has the extraordinary leadership of Dr. Tracy to build the new Center for Innovation, which will bring transformative learning and digital education to the globe. I am excited about this opportunity for the School to be a leader in education on an international scale.

What would you encourage future Alumni to think about in regard to their role as Alumni?

The RHS Alumni generously gave their support to all of us when we were students–now it is time for us to give back to the students of today. “The possibility of yesterday gives opportunity for tomorrow.” As the former Alumni Association President, I ask each of you to participate and give what you can in terms of your time, talents, and treasures. Please think about giving your time to volunteer or host an intern, your talents to visit campus and teach your skills, and your treasures: make a donation today, just like the Alums who did before you.

DERRICK E. MALONEY ‘87

Capital Project Manager, Roger Williams University (RWU) Northeastern University, BS, Art and Architecture History Roger Williams University, BA, Architecture Harvard School of Public Health, Laboratory Design Certificate

As Capital Project Manager, Derrick directs the design and construction of building and master planning for Roger Williams University. He works in close collaboration with engineers, surveyors, financiers, administrators, lawyers, fire chiefs, and scientists to ensure projects move smoothly and maintain schedule. Prior to joining RWU, Derrick worked for various regional architects and the Coast Guard. Derrick has volunteered his time to develop a youth lacrosse program and support food pantries. He is a proud father of two children, Liam and Keelin.

Share one fond memory from your time as a Rocky Hill School student.

I’ll never forget the two-hour drive home from Old Saybrook with Sam Dumas ‘79 and the basketball team, following my two-hour emergency surgery to replace four teeth and wire my jaw shut. Sam did a great job keeping me calm with a very lighthearted take on the situation.

My 30th reunion year just past. I recalled many instances in Gerry Ungers’ Current Events class when we had vigorous debates about public policy. He taught us to be clear in our views, firm in our resolve, but most importantly, civil and understanding of alternative views. I think now more than ever this lesson may be the most important thing I learned. I have kept and established new friendships with my classmates who have different views than me. We only have one chance to make old friends. Thankfully, I maintain that link to my past, and whether it be nostalgic or ethereal, it keeps me grounded.

Tell us about life after Rocky Hill School. When I look at it this way, things seem pretty conventional. I worked on my art degree, got married, earned my architecture degree, had kids, became a Registered Architect, started a youth lacrosse league, and keep searching for new and different work experiences within my field. I took the view that generalist was better than specialist, unfortunately my field and our clients are focused on specialization/ists.

However, being able to see many sides of any issue has been a huge benefit to me both professionally and personally. You are focused on giving back to RHS; what inspires you to do that?

While I was a student, I realized that RHS was a special place spiritually for me. I see the campus as an integral part of forming who I am. As such, I want to see RHS succeed and grow; her success strengthens my brand and our community.

Rocky Hill School is engaging in innovative programs and teaching that you are supporting. What intrigues you about the School today?

As an architect I have seen ‘educational’ fads in the built environment come and go. RHS embraces the notion that learning is not about the ‘classroom’ but about inspiring each student to find his/her way. The small classroom setting, I feel, is superior to many learning environments. The intimate setting allows students to engage differing views directly without being swept up in “Group Think” or “Mob Rules.”

What would you encourage future Alumni to think about in regard to their role as Alumni?

Like any endeavor, volunteering has to be meaningful to your core beliefs or passions. Doing something out of ‘obligation’ is a fail at the first step. While our community is clearly more fortunate than most, and it may seem like she may not need our help financially or in other volunteer roles, it is more important now in our present that we all bolster the things we hold dear and work together to further our common experience.

SCHOLARS

The Upper School Math team placed fourth at the RI State Championship and will compete at the New England Mathematics Championship.

Noah Blazevic ’28 donated his first published book of poetry to the RHS library. All of the poems in the book were written by Noah over the past year and the pictures were drawn by his sister, Mila ’31 Thoughts of a Child is available on Amazon.com.

Andrew Hogan ’23 won the Rhode Island Independent School Spelling Bee at Wheeler School in early March. Andrew and the second-place finisher continued back and forth for 18 rounds until Andrew's winning word, "déjà vu." Several Latin scholars earned awards after taking the National Latin Exam.

LATIN I: Max Lima ’22, Magna Cum Laude; Rachel Arabian ’22, Cum Laude; Anand Basu ’22, Cum Laude;

LATIN II: Rebecca Arabian ’20, Silver Maxima Cum Laude; Lucia Caito '21, Cum Laude; LATIN III: Alex Weiler ’20, Cum Laude; LATIN IV POETRY: Savanna Olsen ’19, Gold Summa Cum Laude; Abigail Costantino ’18, Magna Cum Laude; Jacob Watson ’19, Magna Cum Laude.

LEADERS AND ATHLETES

Katia Mendez ’18, Brienne Harter ’19, and Faythe Schulte ’19 were named Rhode Island Interscholastic League Field Hockey All Stars. The three Mariners played in the All Star game on October 1 at Providence College.

Reese Jennings ’18, Faythe Schulte ’19, Pascale Burnett ’20, Max Lehouiller ’20, and Esteban Wu ’19 joined 500 people to hear 15-minute stories of transformation, as dozens of people from many different industries and sectors told the stories of their creative processes, their struggles, and where they’re going in the future.

Two Upper School students attended the 2018 Bryant University Women’s Summit at the invitation of founding director, Kati Machtley Ava Seitz ’19 and Neha Basu ’20 were inspired after hearing keynote speaker and founder of Rent the Runway, Jennifer Hyman, and media mogul and producer, Nely Galan.

The Boys’ Varsity Basketball team is the 2017-18 NEPSAC Class D Runner-Up, having lost the championship game at Clark University to New York Military Academy by a score of 47-52. The Mariners were 18-4 overall before the post season and went 10-0 in SENEISSA league action. They went 3-0 in the SENEISSA tournament and are current SENE league and tournament champions. After the post season, the Mariners have a cumulative record of 23-5.

ARTISTS & PERFORMERS

The artwork of eight Rocky Hill School students was submitted to the Scholastic Art Competition and two student works of art were selected. Scarlett Shen ’18 was awarded a Silver Key for her painting titled, “Gold and Blossom” and Olivia Massotti ’20 received a Silver Key for her painting, “Mother’s Inner Strength.”

Dr. Jim Tracy, Meg Stowe, and Martha Cunningham spent two days at the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education in Nashville, TN. The team presented the work being implemented at Rocky Hill School to build an ecosystem for innovation that will support our students as they prepare to impact a community, a cause, or the world. Dr. Tracy delivered a presentation titled The Center for Innovation: Building Partnerships Between Industry and Education

A Wall of Awesome (inspired by the book The Book of Awesome by Neil Parisha) is now installed in the Nautilus in Flynn. Students are encouraged to take a few minutes every day to think about something they’re grateful for and to share it by writing it down on the Wall of Awesome. Thank you to Faythe Schulte '19 and Isabella Robinson '20 for leading this initiative.

Lizzie Hayes ’22 competed at the Pink Invitational in Philadelphia, PA this spring. Over 3,800 girls from around the U.S. competed to raise money and awareness for breast cancer auxiliary treatments. Lizzie’s team raised $1,400 and her floor routine score of 9.15 earned an extra donation to be made in her name.

Alyssa Grayson ’19 earned an Award of Excellence from Prudential Spirit of Community for her 1,700+ volunteer hours, which included various animal science outreach with 4H, volunteering as a field technician and citizen scientist on many different animal projects with the Rhode Island DEM, and animal and environmental programs and presentations at the USFWS. She also received the President’s Volunteer Service Award with a letter from President Donald J. Trump.

Willa Geoghegan ’20 and Zack Wilson ’20 will represent Rocky Hill School at the HOBY Leadership Seminar this summer.

Cortlandt Meyerson ’20 swam at the South East New England Championships in March at Boston University. He placed 1st in the 200-yard freestyle relay, 2nd in the 500-yard freestyle, 2nd in the 400-yard freestyle relay, and 3rd in the 50-yard freestyle. Cort also scored all of Rocky Hill’s 13 points at the Rhode Island High School Swimming Championships at Brown University in February.

Swimmers Jacob Pogacar ’19 and Cortlandt Meyerson ’20 qualified for the Rhode Island Independent League state championships. Both Cort and Jacob qualified in the 50 Free and Cort also qualified in the 500.

Andrea White ’18 represented Rocky Hill School at the NEPSAC All-Star Game on Sunday, March 4 at Noble and Greenough School. Her team won 90-42 and she had two 3-point shots and a layup (8 points), blocked 3 shots, and had 3 rebounds.

Ben Pogacar ’20 competed at the Boys’ Deep Freeze Gymnastics Meet in Sterling, MA in January. He took first place on all six events (rings, floor, parallel bars, high bar, vault, and pommel horse) and won first place for the All-Around award for the Junior Developmental level.

Ben Rosenberg ’19 recently competed in the Nacra 15 Midwinters West Regatta at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, CA. Ben and his crew, Sidney Charbonnet of New Orleans, finished the regatta in 6th place overall, racing against 18 other competitors.

Several Rocky Hill School students were accepted to perform with the R.I. Music Educators All-State Ensembles in March. The musicians are Jeremiah Malone ’21, tuba; Gregory Tatevian ’21, violin; Alejandro Wu ’21, viola; Esteban Wu ’19, violin; Max Lehouiller ’20, guitar and bass; and Brendan Weiner ’23, French horn.

Narragansett Sound, the Upper School chorus, performed three pieces at the Purple Light Ceremony on the steps of the Rhode Island State House in November. The ceremony was sponsored by the Pancreatic Care Action Network.

Nick Mangiameli ’18 was named a semi-finalist in the ARISUA Art Contest for his watercolor. ARISIA is a convention for fans of science fiction and fantasy in all forms of media.

FACULTY

Both the Middle School Soccer and Field Hockey teams went undefeated in the 2017 season.

Dr. Jim Tracy was invited by Mass Technology Leadership Council to present at TRANSFORM, a C-suite level event that featured conversations with forward-thinking leaders on macrotrends, global upheaval, and technology. The event was held at the Boston Reserve in December.

Charlie Laurent was recently published in Edutopia, where he described the Smith’s Castle PBL project that his students recently experienced (see page 18). This type of learning experience is provided to Rocky Hill School students at all levels by our dedicated teachers, who uniquely prepare their students to be successful navigators throughout their lives.

Rocky Hill School sent up-and-coming innovators to the Business Innovation Factory (#BIF2017) Summit at Trinity Repertory Company last September.

This winter, Jaida Catallozzi ’24 received her highest floor (9.6) and vault (9.65) scores of the season and came in first in the All-Around in the Team Challenge Meet in Danbury, CT. She also competed in the Aim High Classic in East Greenwich, where she received her highest beam and bar score of the season (9.525 and 9.3) and came in first in the All Around.

Sue Eaton, Community Service Coordinator, reported that the RHS community’s donations to House of Hope this winter far surpassed anything she imagined. The donated toiletries that were collected enabled the Community Service Club to make up 70 bags for House of Hope constituents, plus another 60 boxes (over 15,000 items) of hotel-size items given by the Donoyan family

Lauren Savoia, Middle and Upper School Art teacher, received the Community Art Educator of the Year Award for 2017 by the Massachusetts Art Education Association. Each calendar year the MAEA recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the field of art education in Massachusetts.

Rachel Armentano, her husband, Bob, and daughter Daphne, welcomed Tate Reed Armentano into their family in September.

Scott Lapham, Digital Photography teacher, opened his show, One Gun Gone, at the Trade Pop-Up gallery in Providence in October. One Gun Gone is a multidisciplinary anti-gun violence art project in which students from underserved neighborhoods in urban Rhode Island participate in a professional art making and marketing exercise that ended with Rhode Island’s first-ever gun buyback.

Congratulations to Art Entwistle IV on his award as a Registered Athletic Administrator. In addition, Art's hard work as athletic trainer resulted in Rocky Hill School earning the National Athletic Trainers' Association Safe Sports School award.

BETH DEGERLIA, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

The Advancement Office has had a busy year with lots of great stories to tell our donors, parents, and alumni. The Center for Innovation has been a driver for exciting, new opportunities for our students and faculty. When we coupled that with the work of our Vision Committee, who developed our eight Student Competencies and have been hard at work redesigning the schedule and providing professional development for faculty, it’s clear that Rocky Hill School is certainly On the Move!

As we look at sharing these new initiatives and successes with our community and prospective students, we have put a lot of focus on populating the School’s website to highlight our amazing programs. Some major developments include our Innovator-In-Residence program; realworld projects; the new podcast series, Engaging Tomorrow’s Leaders; and our on-campus edtech incubator with LearnLaunch and Social Enterprise Greenhouse as our partners. Please visit our website to read all about it.

I am pleased to share we have an increase in enrollment and decrease in attrition compared to previous years. We had our lowest attrition on record this past year and hosted our most successful fall open house since 1999! Several grades are full and the outlook for 2018-19 is very encouraging.

Word of mouth is always our best advertising so please keep talking up Rocky Hill School. Be sure to share our posts on social media and wear your RHS gear with pride!

In the last issue of The Bulletin, we talked about increasing partnerships. This has been elevated this year thanks in part to our networks through the Center for Innovation as well as connections Dr. Tracy has made in Rhode Island and Boston.

We are working collaboratively with Highlander Institute, the Governor’s Office for Innovation, Social Enterprise Greenhouse, Harvard Graduate School of Education, MassRobotics, Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, Innovation Hub, MIT and others to re-imagine what types of educational opportunities will truly impact our students. Students need to develop soft-skills, find balance in their lives, understand the future of work, and adopt the mindset of innovation. We believe that they can practice and hone these skills through real-world projects and partnerships. There is much to be excited about at Rocky Hill School!

As we create awareness about the shifts we are making as a school, and the efforts that we are putting into being a leader in academia, we are also looking to our alumni, parents, and friends, as well as corporations and foundations, to help us realize our potential. We are not short on talent, drive, ideas, or enthusiasm. Like most non-profits, we do,

however, find ourselves limited by funds. Operating a school today is expensive and capital expenditures for new construction and deferred maintenance add to the need. If we are to keep our momentum going, we must come together and rally behind the School. The Rocky Hill Fund supports our operating needs and we run special campaigns and events to help us realize the big ideas. And, as we make requests to foundations and corporations for support, we must demonstrate that those closest to the School support it as well.

Please join us in our efforts to make Rocky Hill School the most exciting school in Rhode Island and beyond. Your partnership as a donor, advisor, or student mentor is invaluable. Please consider supporting the School with a gift to the Rocky Hill Fund or the Center for Innovation, or by attending our Sail into Summer party at The Dunes Club on June 22.

Rocky Hill School, Mass Technology Leadership Council, and MassRobotics joined together to host a forum, “Boston at the Crossroads of Tech and Work” at the Old State House in Boston. Moderated by Kara Miller, host of Innovation Hub, the panel discussed how robotics and artificial intelligence are impacting work and education. The impressive team of experts included Elizabeth Reynolds, Executive Director, MIT Industrial Performance Center; Tom Ryden, Executive Director, MassRobotics; Daniel Theobald, Co-Founder and CIO, Vecna and CoFounder and President of MassRobotics (Daniel appeared on a VGo from his office in California); Kathleen Kennedy, Director, Special Projects, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and Co-Founder of HUBweek; and Greg Toppo, senior editor for Inside Higher Ed, and author. We plan to host the event in Providence next year.

Pictured left to right: Innovator-in-Residence Susan Fonseca, Alison Bologna (WJAR), Joanna Reed (Shri Yoga), Kelly Ramirez (Social Enterprise Greenhouse), and Meg Stowe (Rocky Hill School).

Homecoming is a long-standing tradition and a day that brings families and Alumni together to celebrate the School.

Although rain impacted the Alumni Soccer and Field Hockey games, the Middle School athletic games still went on with two impressive wins. MS Field Hockey won 4-0 over North Kingstown and MS Soccer A defeated Block Island 4-3.

The activities and games were held in the Sharpe Gymnasium and Campbell Center, and Dr. Tracy addressed the community in Campbell where he unveiled renovation plans for the Pony Barn as the Center for Innovation. Kristin Urbach ’87 presented Alan Flynn ’85 with a commemorative brick to be installed on campus in honor of his late father, former Headmaster Alan F. Flynn, Jr.

JDRF WALK

The next day, Sunday, October 15, Rocky Hill School opened its 84-acre waterfront campus to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for its JDRF One Walk. The One Walk is a fun, family-friendly event where dedicated walkers, volunteers, and sponsors raise money to make living with T1D safer and healthier— until it is no longer a threat.

Registered walkers on the JDRF One Walk included a team of 38 students, parents, and faculty from Rocky Hill School who, combined with other Rocky Hill student teams, raised more than $10,200 for the cause. Charles Iacono ’99, Associate Executive Director at JDRF, estimated that over 1,000 walkers and volunteers were in attendance. Prior to the event, Rocky Hill students Madelyn Dutilly ’17, Sinead Burnett ’21, Lizzie Hayes ’22, and Jasper Summers ’21 gave presentations to the entire school community about living with T1D and Maddie and Abby Millard ’27 spoke to all participants on the day of the One Walk.

THE RICHARD S. BARKER SR. ’54 COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENT GORDANA NOVAKOVIC-PETTERUTI

Established in 1998, the Richard S. Barker Sr. ’54 Community Service Award recognizes an individual who has shown continuous support and given significant service to the Rocky Hill School community. In 2013, the award was named in honor of Richard S. Barker, Sr. ’54 for his lifelong service to the School.

This award honors an individual who has accepted leadership responsibility in a variety of roles, has demonstrated loyalty to the School, and a desire to perpetuate its commitment to excellence in all areas of education. It recognizes an individual whose life and accomplishments exemplify the School’s motto, Know Thyself, and whose contributions make our School a finer, better place.

During the 2017 Commencement exercises on June 9, 2017, the award was given to Gordana Novakovic-Petteruti P’09, ’13, ’17. Gordana has been a dedicated parent, volunteer, and advocate for Rocky Hill School for nearly two decades. Her unwavering commitment to excellence, community, and education have inspired others to serve and her contributions have been transformative for the School. Gordana’s service and leadership have touched every aspect of school life where she has served as a Trustee; Parent Teacher League President, Vice President, Division Representative, and Class Parent; Gala Chair; Admission Ambassador; and tireless volunteer.

Thank you, Gordana, for your years of service and for your true care and concern for the students and faculty of Rocky Hill School!

Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award

Monica Iacono Boss ’91, P’22, ’23, ’26

At Commencement, Alumni Association

President Sarah Shaw Siskin ’78 presented Monica Iacono Boss ’91 with the Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award. Monica graduated from Rocky Hill School Cum Laude and as an accomplished athlete. She attended Trinity College as an Art History major with a minor in Legal Studies, and then earned an M.B.A. from Babson College F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business. Monica went on to have a successful corporate career in human resources. She most recently worked at CVS Health as an Executive Advisor to the CHRO in Human Resources Strategy, helping HR executives lead and manage key enterprise initiatives. Prior to working in HR Strategy, Monica implemented process improvements in Talent Acquisition and created a robust vendor management program in HR Shared Services. Before joining CVS Health, she was a Senior Vice President at Bank of America in Global HR Shared Services, and a consultant at Pile and Company, in Boston and New York. Monica holds a Six Sigma Green Belt certification from Bank of America. While Monica was establishing herself professionally, she never forgot the value of her experience at Rocky Hill School. She became a Rocky Hill parent in 2009 and a member of the Board of Trustees in 2015. She is currently serving as the Board Vice President. She has also given her time and talent as a member of the Alumni Board and the Parent Teacher League, and as a coach for both MS Field Hockey and US Girls’ Lacrosse. Monica has served on several planning committees including the Head of School Search, 75th Gala, Spark Gala, Fall Classic, Alumni Career Day, Business After Hours, and several Board subcommittees.

Monica is currently an Executive Committee member of the RISD Museum Associates, and previous member of the South County Youth Lacrosse and Busy Buddies Foundation Boards. Monica, her husband Geoff, three daughters Charlotte ’22, Sydney ’23, and Morgan ’26, and their dog Brody, reside in Narragansett.

As part of a fundraiser for Students Making Activist Choices, Olivia DePasquale ’18 and Willa Geoghegan ’20 tape Director of Diversity Matt Gnolfo to the gym wall.

The 2017-2019 Alumni Association Board: Hannah and Sarah Knowles ’08, Trixie (Webber) Dumas ’81, Sarah Taylor ’10, Erica Santos ’11, Tory Dumas ’10, Maria Charbonneau ’12, Phil Hackett ’10, Kristin Urbach ’87.

Front row: Lauren (Marsh) Bush ’02 and her son, John.

Not pictured: Lauren (Friedman) Koblick ’02 and Sally Kenyon Grant ’87.

FILIP AUGUSTOWSKI *

MEGAN CARUSO *

ANN COATY *

HUNTER CORBETT *

ALIVIA FERLISE

JAMES FROST *

HUNTER GALLANT **

SARA GASROW *

BENJAMIN HERNOWITZ

DEIRDRE IRVINE *

WILLIAM JANIKIES *

YUFAN JIANG **

SERA JOHNSON *

NICOLE JOURABCHI

BRIDGET KIST *

GILES LANOWY *

JONATHAN LIGUORI

COMMENCEMENT AWARDS

HEATHER LIND NICOLAS MANCINI *

ABIGAIL MCMAHON *

MOLLY MCMAHON

BROOKE MONGEON CHASE MULVANEY *

ALEJANDRO PEREZ *

ANESSA PETTERUTI † ***

KAYLYNN POLLEY *

JOHN PONTE

SARAH REIMER *

ALEJANDRO ROJAS

CASSIDY SANTOS *

JUNYI SHI *

HANQING ZHANG **

XIAOFAN ZHOU *

YUANCHEN ZHOU *

Kirkland Gibson Faculty

Summer Enrichment Fund

Jack McNamara

SanAntonio Family Faculty

Achievement Award

Traci Fairchield and Charles Laurent

Alumni Athletic

Achievement Award

James Frost ’17

Classics Book Prize

Anessa Petteruti ’17

Hugh D. Campbell

French Prize

Deirdre Irvine ’17

Spanish Language Award

Kaylynn Polley ’17

Foreman Award

in Fine Arts

Deirdre Irvine ’17

Peggy & Henry Sharpe English Award

Sera Johnson 17

Gregor Award in Mathematics

Yufan Jiang ’17

Dr. Richard R. McMahon Science Award

Megan Caruso ’17

Roberta Wintersteen Knight ’61

Book Award

Deirdre Irvine ’17

William W. Mauran Bowl

Anessa Petteruti 17

Richard S. Barker, Sr. ’54

Community Service Award

Gordana Petteruti P’09, ’13, ’17

Outstanding Alumni Award

Monica Iacono Boss ’91, P’22, ’23, ’26

Rocky Hill School held its Commencement exercises on Friday, June 9 for the 34 graduating members of the Class of 2017.

Nellie Gorbea Secretary of State for the State of Rhode Island, addressed the Class of 2017 as Commencement Speaker. During her speech, she reminisced about her four lunches with the graduating seniors in April, and how she learned just how close-knit the community feel is at Rocky Hill School.

Ms. Gorbea also impressed upon the seniors the importance of community engagement. “Today, we start talking less about your ‘future’ and more about your ‘present,’ because we are counting on you. We are counting on you to become engaged civic leaders,” she said.

Anessa Petteruti addressed the school community as valedictorian. Anessa earned the distinction by having a cumulative grade average greater than 95% over four years in the Upper School. She earned the highest grade average every year since sixth grade, was elected into the National Honor Society in her junior year, and has been the recipient of numerous academic awards in all subject areas. Anessa was also named the Twelfth Grade Class Scholar. She is a freshman at Brown University.

Class president Alejandro Perez presented the class gift, a donation to support the renovation of the Campbell Center lobby.

† Valedictorian, ***Summa Cum Laude, **Magna Cum Laude, * Cum Laude

Fellow RHS Alums,

As the newly elected President of the Rocky Hill School Alumni Association, I am truly honored to represent such a meaningful organization.

The Board, in conjunction with the Alumni Office, hosts numerous events, programs, and volunteer opportunities both locally as well as regionally. I would like to encourage all my fellow alumni to:

Stay connected!

Facebook: If you are not a part of our RHS Alumni Association Facebook page, join us! This is a great opportunity for you to learn about upcoming events, keep in touch with old classmates, post updates on news in your world, and more. We also have a robust LinkedIn network.

Get Involved!

There are many ways for you to get involved on committees, with regional events, the brick fundraising program to support the Alumni Scholarship, Homecoming, Career Day, and Reunion. The Alumni Office and the Alumni Association welcome your new ideas, involvement, and participation!

I want to hear from you. Send me your suggestions on how we can make our Alumni Association a stronger, more engaged organization, or you can simply send me a quick note to let me know what you’ve been up to.

Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your Alumni Association President. I’m excited about the next two years, and what it holds for us as we partner to strengthen and grow our Alumni Association.

Lauren Friedman Koblick ’02 laurenkoblick@gmail.com

2017-2019 Rocky Hill School Alumni Association

Immediate Past President

Sarah Shaw Siskin ’78

President

Lauren Friedman Koblick ’02

Vice President

Maria Charbonneau ’12

Treasurer

Sarah Taylor ’10

Secretary

Sarah Knowles ’08

Board At Large

Dane Ardente ’12

Lauren Marsh Bush ’02

Ernest “Remy” Corvese ’08

Tory Dumas ’10

Trixie Webber Dumas ’81

Lauren Gertz ’12

Sally Kenyon Grant ’87

Phil Hackett ’10

Hannah Knowles ’08

Alex Mackinger ’04

Kristin Mitchell ’02

Jonathan Pine ’11

Erica Santos ’11

Kristin Urbach ’87

1951

Guy C. Kaldis “I celebrated my 80th birthday on August 1, 2017 with my daughter and her three children, and my eldest son and his two children. We also celebrated my son’s 57th birthday on August 5 at a Mets game. Mr. Hale took me to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park where I learned about the ‘Red Hawts’ and the ‘Red Sawx.’ I sold my house and my 42-foot ketch. I fondly remember that Mr. Hale taught me how to sail. I exercise daily and frequently go to Manhattan for cultural events. Most recently I attended a two-string quartet. Again, I went to URI with my fellow students and Mr. and Mrs. Hale.”

1967

1967 Scribe: Lucy Tillman, alumni@rockyhill.org

50TH REUNION

1968 Revered leaders Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated; North Korea captured a U.S. ship; Olympic athletes raised fists in Black Power salute; the first person orbited the moon with the Apollo 8 mission

1968 Scribe: Nancy Hoxsie Mead, nancyhmead@gmail.com

Nancy Hoxsie Mead sent greetings from Salt Lake City and was in Utah until early February. “When our place in Puerto Rico was put out of commission due to the hurricanes, we decided to do something crazy so we took the train from Kingston to Salt Lake City where we rented a car for two weeks to drive around the state and see some stuff. Then we took the train back the other way. Looking forward to Reunion!”

1969

1969 Scribe: Christine Hoxsie Morris, alumni@rockyhill.org

1959

Jeffrey P. Ellis “We’re grandparents for the fourth time. Louisa Mae was born in the Balboa Naval Hospital on August 5th. My son Ian is stationed with the Special Operations Command, San Diego.”

Rocky Hill School Alumni Association Scholarship

The Rocky Hill School Alumni Association established a scholarship to be awarded annually to an alumni child or grandchild who best embodies the qualities of a Rocky Hill School student through outstanding scholarship, sportsmanship, or citizenship. Recipients of the alumni scholarship must demonstrate a financial need as stipulated by Rocky Hill School’s financial aid policies and procedures. Applications for financial assistance will be filed with School and Student Services (SSS). The alumni scholarship will be used toward tuition only and will be given to a maximum of two students annually.

1970

Douglas Swan reported this past year they welcomed their fifth grandchild Annie into the world. They went on a cruise in July, Montreal to Boston, and took a cruise from Cape Canaveral, Florida to the Bahamas in January. Their house was spared hurricane damage this fall. “All is well.”

1970 Scribe: Scribe needed, alumni@rockyhill.org

1971

1971 Scribe: Roger Ray, rray4@cox.net

1972

1972 Scribe: Lori Silverstein Dorsey oreocatri@cox.net

45TH REUNION

1973 Skylab launched; Secretariat wins Triple Crown; Sydney Opera House is opened; Yom Kippur War and Oil Embargo; Watergate hearings begin; Supreme Court rules on Roe v. Wade

1973 Scribe: Catherine Tingley Fairbairn, alumni@rockyhill.org

1974

Members of the class of 1974 Pat (Whitford) Leins, Sarah Horowitz Statmore, and Joyce Hempstead met for dinner in Jamestown on a foggy evening in early July. Joyce writes, “Since it had been 43 years since we last saw each other, we didn’t run out of stuff to talk about. Now that Pat is back in RI, with luck we’ll schedule a repeat performance.”

John W. Foster “My news is that after serving in the Marine Corps for five years, then working a 34-year career as a paramedic with the fire department, I retired in 2013. I was recently elected to serve my community as Mayor. Our town of Yelm, WA has a population of about 8,500 and is one of the fastest growing communities in the South Puget Sound area. There are many challenges associated with growth, but we are maintaining the small town feel that attracted us here 21 years ago. My wife, Nicki, and I raised our four children here, and though they are off on their own careers now, they still call Yelm home, so we have to keep it nice for them!”

1974 Scribe: Joyce Hempstead, jhempstead56@gmail.com

LAUREN FRIEDMAN KOBLICK ’02, ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

1975

Donna Tocco Greenaway sent in a picture of her children Kara and Will on a sibling trip to Arches National Park in Utah last fall.

once again. I am teaching again at URI in the evenings so I invite anyone from RI or within driving distance to come and sign-up for SIX SIGMA LEAN, a great operational process driven class. We have a real push here at our company engaging and teaching Millennials and Gen X. Members from our team have gone around the northeast giving talks to companies and business leaders and at symposiums asking are they hindrance or rocket fuel; I believe the latter. Our Tuesday and Thursday tours at VIBCO have doubled in the last year for people wanting to come see LEAN process improvement. I welcome you to call and schedule your visit today.”

1976

1977

1977

1980

Mary Lynne Kennedy writes, “I was so saddened to lose my beloved husband this year. We had an amazing 25-plus years together and so many adventures. I continue to work in multiple settings doing neuropsychology evaluations. The work is fulfilling and I meet so many wonderful families. My son, Sam, is in 10th grade at RHS, and he is having an incredible experience. It is so gratifying watching him engage in so many enriching learning opportunities at the same school that offered so much to me.”

1980 Scribe: Mary Lynne Kennedy, MLKMDW@gmail.com

1987

This past summer Sally Kenyon Grant was honored to lead one-hundred cybersecurity executive women on Capitol Hill for a historic day of empowerment and technical expertise to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees. It was Sally’s true honor to serve alongside America’s cyber warriors to defend our United States critical infrastructure assets.

Capt Anthony Mendillo Jr. sent along a picture from his charter business Keen M Blue Water Encounters in Cancun. Here is a picture of Dr. Guy Harvey, Dr. Wetherbee from University of Rhode Island, Dr. Mahmood Shivji from Southeast Nova University, and Capt. Anthony Mendillo leading a Mako shark satellite tagging expedition aboard “Keen M.” www.keen-m.com.

25TH REUNION

1993

The Pentium microprocessor introduced by Intel; the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is signed into law by President Bill Clinton; Space Shuttle Endeavor mission to repair an optical flaw in the Hubble Space Telescope; Ty Warner USA launches the first Beanie Babies; popular films included Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Firm, Sleepless in Seattle, The Pelican Brief, and Schindler’s List

1993 Scribe: Lisa Dorson Borge, lrborge@gmail.com

1994

40TH REUNION

1978

The first cellular mobile phone is introduced in Illinois; Space Invaders appears in arcades launching the video gaming craze; Sweden is the first country to recognize the effect of aerosol sprays on the Ozone Layer and bans its sale; a great year for movies with Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Karl A. Wadensten “So a really crazy, fun, busy year is coming to a close. My wife Kymberly and children Tatum, Sven, Lars, and Magnus are great. All are at different stages of school graduating and post-graduate studies. Many of them are helping at the business, to support MADE IN THE USA. This year, I had the distinct honor to be appointed to several boards, including Roger Williams University in Bristol RI—an incredible university (whose motto, incidentally, resembles that of RHS: ‘Working to strengthen society through engaged teaching and learning’) and a company in IA leading the charge in innovation and plastic injection molding for manufacturing. Both Sven ’13 and I are serving on a board for a startup company here in RI. I was busy this year learning and growing with Leadership Rhode Island as a student, what a great experience with private, public, profit and non-profit leaders coming together in a class for an entire year! After a long process with the city of Richmond, RI, we have a building permit to expand VIBCO

Sarah Shaw Siskin “Life is good in NJ! SafeCare Ambulance Co. is doing well, and my husband Peter has owned it for nearly three years now. Our youngest son, Adam, is the manager and he is also working towards a business degree. Our other son, Chris, is the owner of Title II Mfg. in Sarasota, FL and his wife Annie is a paralegal. They have two sons, Christopher, age six, and Calen, age two. I continue my remote computer work for VIBCO, a job which I love, and am thrilled to be working for Karl Wadensten ’78 at such a great company. Our 40th reunion is this June, I am hoping all my classmates can make it!”

1981

1981 Scribe: Lisa Batty Spicuzza, spicuzza2@cox.net

1982

1982 Scribe: Pamela Timperley Buckenmaier, alumni@rockyhill.org

THIRTY-FIFTH REUNION

1983

ARPANET officially changes to use the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet; Lotus 1-2-3 is released; IBM releases the IBM PC XT; United States invades Grenada; US Space Shuttle Challenger is launched on its maiden flight; Microsoft Word is first released; Swatch introduces their first watches

1983 Scribe: Jo-Anne Coghlin Intrator, jcintrator@comcast.net

1984

1984 Scribe: Erin E. Clement, eec0715@cox.net

1985

1985 Scribe: Elisabeth Brown, Zeph2Pixie@yahoo.com

1986

1987 Scribe: Sally Kenyon Grant, sallykenyongrant@gmail.com

30TH REUNION

1988

Iran-Iraq war ends; NASA resumed the Space Shuttle program with the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-26 mission; Pan Am Flight 103 tragedy in Lockerbie, Scotland; first transatlantic fibre optic cable laid able to carry 40,000 telephone calls simultaneously; Stephen Hawking publishes “A Brief History Of Time;” popular movies included Rain Man, Die Hard, and A Fish Called Wanda 1988 Scribe: Spurgeon Thompson, spurgeonthompson@hotmail.com

1989

1989 Scribes: Rhaea N. Photopoulos, rhaea31@yahoo.com; Mia Ann Caetano Johnson, mcaetanojohnson@verizon.net

1990

1990 Scribe: Scribe needed, alumni@rockyhill.org

1991

Liana J. Magner “I got married on July 27, 2017 in Westport, MA, to Michael Meyran. Mike is originally from Long Island, NY and is the Deputy Port Director for Massport. We are currently splitting our time between Boston and Gloucester, MA.”

In late 2016, Amanda Field was elected Commissioner of her town’s water-district and in January of 2017, Commissioner Field was sworn in as the first female commissioner. She defeated an 18-year incumbent in a two to one vote.

Rachael Piro married Paul Gustafson on July 29, 2017 at Ocean Cliff in Newport, RI. They now reside in Minnesota.

1979

Robert L. Hempstead is a captain for Royal Caribbean, Oasis class ships. He is retired military and an ex-Bering Sea fisherman. He shares: “Ride motorcycles as much as possible. Married. Two cats. No kids. Live in Issaquah, WA. Visit RI once or twice a year. Have fond memories of Rocky Hill School. Hope to make a reunion one day.”

1979 Scribe: Charlotte Pillsbury Wood, charlottepwood@comcast.net

Elizabeth G. Welch (Matteson) Poppy writes

“I was married on August 4, 2016 to Robert John Welch in Douglas, MA. I also recently received a promotion to Principal Developer at my company, Fallon Health, in Worcester, MA. I have been happily employed at Fallon Health for the past 10 years.”

1986 Scribe: Lauren Smith, smith.lauren_m@yahoo.com

Mia Caetano Johnson and her two sons (Eric, age 10 and Alex, age 8) earned their Tae Kwon Doe apprentice Black Belts in June 2017 at Mastery Martial Arts in East Greenwich, RI. Also pictured is Mia’s husband (Eric).

1995

Daniel Cox “In July 2017 I took on the role of Chief Representative-Japan for London-based Grosvenor, one of the world’s largest real estate development and investment firms.”

1991 Scribe: Liana Magner, liana.magner@mercer.com

1992

1992 Scribe: Crystel Siebel Hoyt, girtthesquirt@aol.com

1996

Alicia Cook is a Special Education teacher at Academy for Career Exploration, a public charter school that has three career pathways focusing on CISCO networking and cyber security, application programming and software engineering, and data science. She is co-teaching 9th grade Algebra; 9th, 10th and 11th grade English; as well as serving as advisor for the student produced online publication. She was elected to be one of the teacher representatives for the school’s Board of Directors. She loves being a part of a small school and it reminds her of the intimate size of RHS.

1975 Scribe: Donna Tocco Greenaway, dgreenaway@cox.net

1976 Scribe: Mary Jean Keelber Roche, mjmom02@aol.com

Scribe: Susan Magee Rinebolt, suebru1212@juno.com

1978 Scribe: Sarah Shaw Siskin, forked427@comcast.net

1994 Scribe: Tracey Brown Banach, tracey_eb@hotmail.com

1995 Scribe: Rebecca M. Krasnof, kransnof@gmail.com

W. Matthew Sullivan, “After twenty years of fumbling in the dark, I finally found the ‘on’ switch to adult life...a few months after I proposed—following our four-day trek to Machu Picchu—my wife Julia and I were married in the summer of 2016. Nearly a year later, we bought our first home. And by the time this is printed, we will have welcomed our first child! I am also chuffed to hear that Mr. Tukey finally acquired the Corvette he had been wanting for so long.”

competitively kicking around a soccer ball on the alumni fields. We currently make their home on the south shore of MA.

2001

2001 Scribe: Bridget Sullivan Garmisa, BSullivanRD@gmail.com

2002

2002 Scribe: Kristin McLimans Mitchell, kmitchell1226@gmail.com

15TH REUNION

2003

2000

Shalaine (Fradette) Zamfotis “What a year it has been for the Zam Fam! We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our family: Hanneli Zamfotis. She was born on September 13, 2017, weighing in at 6 lbs. 6 oz. Big brother Haiden is absolutely smitten with his little sister, and there is no doubt, he is already the apple of her eye! Wishing you all a very happy 2018 from Greg, Shalaine, Haiden & Hanneli Zamfotis”

TENTH REUNION

2008

Barack Obama becomes president; Fidel Castro steps down as President of Cuba after almost 50 years in power; Apple sells the new ultra-thin MacBook Air notebook; writers strike against Hollywood studios, networks and production companies; Microsoft attempts to buy Yahoo for $44.6bn

2012

Shannon M. O’Rourke “Lauren Gertz ’12 and I traveled around Italy in June. I am now Dispatcher for Woonsocket Police Department. Lauren is an Event Planner at East Meets West Catering in Boston.”

1997

Joshua E. Dubs “In November 2017 I was given the VIP Award from the Erie County Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. in recognition of my regular participation in probono activities with that organization, representing indigent tenants and litigants in and around the Buffalo, NY area.”

20TH REUNION

1998 United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland sign the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement; Microsoft becomes the biggest company in the world valued at $261bn on the New York Stock Exchange; The search engine Google is founded; popular films included Armageddon, Titanic, and The Wedding Singer

1998 Scribe: Katherine Hoagland Scott, ks42780@gmail.com

1999

Sarah A. Ledoux writes “After many adventurous years of engagement, Lucas DuClos ’95 and I tied the knot on our engagement anniversary weekend, October 8. The ceremony and lunch, held in our shared hometown, Warwick, was attended by close friends and family.” RHS alumni, faculty, and former students in attendance included: the groom’s brothers Joshua ’99, Justin ’96, and Jeffrey ’93; the groom’s father, former RHS music department chair, Jeffery G. DuClos; the bride’s sister Renée ’01; friends of the bride and groom Elisa Vitalo ’99, Meredith (Fink) Lindberg ’99, Ian Prior ’95, and Graham Howland ’95; officiating the ceremony was RHS alum and long-time friend to both the bride and groom Zachary Taylor ’98 Several weeks after the ceremony, we ventured back to RHS to take pictures around campus. Here, we are pictured

Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic travel to a close; Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation; Saddam Hussein is captured by U.S. forces; Apple launches iTunes; popular films were The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Finding Nemo, The Last Samurai, and X2: X-Men United Alexis (Wyrofsky) Kahn and Ben Kahn “Ben and I recently relocated to a small farm in North Stonington, CT. It allows me to keep my horse (the same one I’ve had since high school!) at home and we’ve also added a few pets to the mix (including the puppy in the photo). Ben left Wink, the smart home technology company, and is working with his father who has a small media production business called Flatiron Works. I am working as a Business Banking Officer for Chelsea Groton Bank, which is a mutual bank covering Southeast CT and RI.”

2005

Allison (Friedman) Horowitz “Ian Horowitz and I were married on April 29, 2017 in Boca Raton, FL.”

2008 Scribe: Hannah C. Knowles, hannahcknowles@gmail.com Sarah L. Knowles, sarahlknowles@gmail.com; Allison E. Rooney, Allisonerooney@gmail.com

2009

This past year, Hannah Gardner hiked a little over 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, a trail spanning from Mexico to Canada that follows the mountains along the west coast. She backpacked with her boyfriend, Kevin Jandreau who is an architect originally from Maine. Although her intent was to complete the 2,650 mile journey, the higher than average snow levels and frequent forest fires changed her plans. But, the adventure was full of amazing views, strong friendships, and ended with an engagement! Currently, Hannah is in the midst of wedding planning. She is set to marry Kevin in a small ceremony close by Mt. Hood in September 2018 and she is so excited to be able to continue to share adventures with him for years to come.

2009 Scribe: Ellie Sharpe, esharpe77@gmail.com

2010

2012 Scribe: Shannon M. O’Rourke, Sorourke774@alumni.rwu.edu

5TH REUNION

Stephanie (Soscia) Kalb “My family and I just moved into a new house we spent most of 2017 renovating. I also began training for the 2018 Boston Marathon to support the Alzheimer’s Association. I am running in honor of my mother, Nancy, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 56.” You may visit www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/ alzheimersassociationboston2018/ stephaniekalb1 to learn more.

2004

Max

2006

2006

2007

Breanna Lynch, “I am in the middle of my second year of teaching French to grades 7-12 at Hopkins Academy. I am currently working on a post-master’s certificate through the University of New England and am enjoying spending time with my dog, Ruby. I spent a couple weeks in Lyon, France this past summer and am excited to return to France in the fall with my students.”

2013 Boston Marathon bombings; Congress passed a last-minute deal to reopen the government and raise the debt limit right at the deadline; Sony releases the PlayStation 4 gaming system while Microsoft releases the Xbox One; Twitter goes public; Edward Snowden leaks information about the NSA’s secret internet and cell-phone data gathering program; Apple releases two new iPhones, the 5C and 5S; popular movies include Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Man of Steel, World War Z, Anchorman 2, and The Wolf of Wall Street; popular television shows include New Girl, The Walking Dead, Revenge, The Americans, Girls, Brooklyn-Nine-Nine, and The Blacklist

ssoscia@gmail.com

Andrew S. Brown recently started working at Brown & Connery as an associate. Prior to working at the firm, Andrew clerked for the Honorable Freda L. Wolfson in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Andrew also clerked for the Honorable Douglas K. Wolfson (ret.) in the Superior Court of New Jersey. Andrew currently lives in Collingswood, NJ, which is located outside of Philadelphia.

2007 Scribe: Patricia L. Capuano, pcapuano@gmail.com; Courtney Lada, clada1@gmail.com

2010 Scribe: Sarah Taylor, staylor7@conncoll.edu

2011

2011 Scribe: Stephanie Mattioli, mattiolistephanie@ gmail.com

Sven-Axel Wadensten writes that he “is getting ready to graduate from Northeastern University College of Engineering’s five-year program with co-ops and will have a mechanical engineering degree and minor in industrial engineering. Have my sites set on possible master degree in civil engineering and getting a professional engineering certificate. My last co-op was in Missouri...love the state, the people, and especially the hunting. I was busy doing a patent filing this year for a piece of equipment that VIBCO will manufacture for the road construction industry, and received a full patent. I was asked to sit on a board of a startup manufacturing company here in Rhode Island, which is very exciting. I think

1996 Scribe: Erica Harrington Perkoski, ericaharrington@msn.com

1997 Scribe: Marianne C. SanAntonio, msanantonio@mail.une.edu

1999 Scribe: Megan Andreozzi Fox, mcandreozzi@gmail.com

2000 Scribe: Stephanie Soscia Kalb,

2003 Scribe: Nicholas Pereira, NickFP@gmail.com

J. Sackett “September was a big month for me; I bought a house in Pawtuxet Village on the 8th and got married on 16th.”

2004 Scribe: Kristin Kacewicz Clarke, kskacewicz@gmail.com; Kathryn A. Donnelly, kathryndonn@gmail.com

2005 Scribe: Kate (Corvese) Noelte, kate.corvese@gmail.com

Scribe: Laura-Verado Goodrich, Laura.verardogoodrich@gmail.com

back on the Rocky Hill motto, ‘Know thyself,’ which has worked out well, and seeing the new tagline, ‘Small School/ Big Opportunities’ could not be more true. VIBCO sent me and my brother Lars ’15 on a trade mission of learning to Japan in the beginning of December with 20 other business leaders from around the world, exploring LEAN Toyota Production Systems. What and fantastic experience and culture there is in Japan. Looking forward to graduation and seeing what the world brings.”

2013 Scribe: Courtney Harrington, cmharrington94@gmail.com

2014

Kyla Teeters recently spent two weeks in Trinidad studying pans (steel drums) with fellow members of Wheaton’s steel drum band, the Lymin Lyons. She enjoyed visiting panyards, traveling through the mountains, and trying local food as Trinidad got ready for Carnival.

2014 Scribe: Kayla DiSegna, kayhdisegna@gmail.com

2015

Amanda Siegel has maintained the relationship she formed with her senior internship advisor, Dr. Deborah Gist, and has continued to work with Dr. Gist in her new role as Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools. Amanda visited the district for an internship and continues to work remotely on a variety of projects.

Capri Catanzaro was named one of the “18 to Watch in 2018” by GoLocalProv for her work in the local political community, and is now the Policy Director of Rhode Island Progressive Democrats of America. After working on Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, Capri served as now-State Senator Jeanine Calkin’s campaign manager.

2015 Scribe: Amanda Siegel, amanda_siegel@brown.edu

2016

Douglas Cochran had a great summer working for the Masonic Youth Foundation and sailing on Narragansett Bay. Douglas took on the role of Competitive Captain for the Rochester Institute of Technology Sailing Team where they had a great first season and the team is looking forward to 2018.

Nate DeMoranville called in to share he is the president of the sophomore class at Bowdoin, among the many cool things he is doing!

IN MEMORIUM (as of 2/14/2018)

Maria A. Alfred (1/11/2017)

Wife of John Alfred, mother of Michael L. Alfred ’88 and Stephanie J. Hilliker ’92 (Alfred)

Anne W. Brennan ‘87 (5/18/2017)

Lucy M. Vitalo Ciolli (12/6/2016)

Grandmother of Elisa Vitalo ’99

Irving “Chub” Clement (8/10/17)

Jenna N. O’del “In June of 2017, I presented a poster at the Annual Meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, at the University of Toronto-Scarborough, on examining animal behavior through dual lenses: indigenous stories predate but also highlight ethological principles in the form and function of its animal characters.’”

2016 Scribe: Lauren Silva, silva.la@husky.neu.edu

Alejandro Perez is having a great time at Boston College, where he is pursuing a political science degree. He has been very active in his new community and has been volunteering for the organization Violence in Boston, which serves in raising awareness to end to the crime epidemic that largely affects communities of color in disparaged neighborhoods.

Jamie Frost is enjoying his first semester at the University of Vermont. He is now a brother of Pi Kappa Alpha and a member of the club lacrosse team.

Kaylynn Polley has just finished her first semester of college at the University of Rhode Island. She’s recently decided to pursue URI’s Green Business dual degree, where she’ll graduate with two bachelor degrees in General Business and Environmental & Natural Resource Economics.

Sadie Reimer is enjoying the warm weather at Florida Southern College where she has performed in two dance concerts and worked with talented guest artist, Michael Foley. She has decided to undertake a Criminology minor in addition to her BFA Dance major.

Ann Coaty is about halfway through her gap year before she starts at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She just finished her training to be a youth ski instructor and is loving everything Copper Mountain has to offer.

2019

Alyazya A. Al-Hebsi ’19 returned to RHS in November 2017 and reconnected with Meg Stowe after being away for six years. Alyazya attended our 5th grade in 2011-2012 and was best friends with Sophie Stowe, who also attended RHS!

Father of Kevin Clement ’73, Erin E. Clement ’84, Brian Clement ’86 and Coleen (Clement) Smith ’88

Charles Codman ’63 (2/9/2017)

William P. Considine, Jr. (2/19/2017)

Father of William P. Considine, III ’76, grandfather of Brooke Mauran ’06, uncle of Robert Considine ’85 and former faculty member Jason Considine

Denis “Dino” J. Courtemanche (11/6/2017)

Grandfather of Benjamin A. Liebermensch ’22 and Lillian C. Liebermensch ’24

James T. Doyle ’58 (10/30/2017)

Past President of the Rocky Hill Alumni Association

Thelma D. Eaton (2/20/2017)

Mary Sheila Quinn Klenk (11/3/2017)

Wife of William C. Klenk, mother of Sarah Klenk Rohrer ’84

Reverend Steven A. Kochones (1/25/2017)

Grandfather of Mary T. Kochones ‘94

Morris Liebermensch (10/17/2017)

Grandfather of Benjamin A. Liebermensch ’22 and Lillian C. Liebermensch ’24

Sharon Ann Wry MacFarlane (3/28/2017)

Mother of Wryanne MacFarlaneZwolenski ’95

Rosemarie (Pacheco) Powers (7/19/2017)

Mother of former faculty member Kathy Priest

Jean (DiCostanzo) Quaglieri (12/31/2017)

Grandmother of Rebecca (Quaglieri) Henderson ’97

Donald W. Ritter (2/15/2017)

Father of Wesley and Julia Ritter ’12

Peter Sammis ’58 (10/13/2017)

Former faculty member and brother of Anne “Mimi” Sammis ’56

Alan F. Flynn, Jr. (1932 – 2017)

FORMER FACULTY NEWS

Kathy Priest and husband and Hank are delighted to announce that on December 1, 2017 their granddaughter Julianna Mae Priest entered the world at 8:05 p.m. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Julianna and her parents, Zack and Colleen, are planning on a trip to Naples, FL to visit Granny and Grandpa Hank in April!

Grandmother of Sarah Messier Williams ’00

Alan F. Flynn, Jr. (8/30/2017)

Headmaster (1975 - 1991)

Husband of Emi Flynn, Father of Alan F. Flynn III ’85, Sarah Akemi Flynn ’86

Brenda Fougere (1/1/2018)

Wife of staff member Wayne Fougere

Elizabeth Marie Gooding (10/06/2017)

Sister of Mary Bridget Gooding ’06

Arnold K. Griffith ‘57 (4/25/2017)

Son of former faculty member Barbara Griffith

James Harter Jr. (11/9/2016)

Grandfather of Brienne Harter ’19

Kerwin “Kerv” E. Hyland, Jr. (11/24/2017)

Father of Jeffrey Hyland ’86

Nicholas William Janikies (5/15/2017)

Former Trustee, father of William Janikies ’83, Jonathan Janikies ’89, Julia Janikies ’16 and grandfather of Nicholas Simonson ’14, and Will Janikies ’17

Leonard J. Sholes (1/19/2017)

Father of Steven Sholes ’71, grandfather of Adam Sholes ’97, Noah Sholes ’99, Hope A. Sholes-Pinder ’04, and the late Marc L. Sholes ’96

Donald Hardy Spears (5/27/2017)

Father of Linda S. Spears ’70

Robert “Bob” W. Sutcliffe (1/4/2017)

Father of Ian R. Sutcliffe ’10

Richard A. Toupin (11/11/2017)

Father of Caitlin Toupin ‘03 and Brendan Toupin ’06

Hope Hall Tukey (2/17/2017)

Grandmother of Dr. Melissa H. Tukey ’98 and mother of former faculty member Paul M. Tukey

Karen D. Vaughan (11/21/2017)

Grandmother of Rome Kirby ’07 and Seamus Kirby ’13

Judge Arthur N. Votolato (5/28/2017)

Father of Dacia Votolato ’78

Michael David Weiler, Ph.D. (3/20/2017)

Husband of Mary Lynne Kennedy ’80 and father of Sam Weiler ’20

On Friday, November 24, friends, family and colleagues of Headmaster emeritus Alan F. Flynn, Jr. gathered on the Rocky Hill School campus to honor his legacy and life. Mr. Flynn passed away in August from complications related to his battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Alan was headmaster at Rocky Hill School from 1975 – 1991. In his 16 years at Rocky Hill School, he touched the lives of thousands of students, mentored a generation of teachers, and served as a pillar in the community. Alan was a dedicated Rotarian, an avid sports fan, and a committed educator. His children, Akemi and Alan, and his wife of 53 years, Emi, were so pleased to be able to celebrate Alan among friends on the campus they called home for so many years. The outpouring of support is a testament to the amazing and impactful life he led. Many thanks to all who attended Alan’s memorial or made contributions in his honor. Rocky Hill School will install a memorial brick in the Garden Classroom in his honor.

Alejandro Perez, Will Janikies, Jamie Frost and John Ponte all came back to play in their first Alumni basketball game as Alumni.

2017 Scribe: Sadie Reimer, SadieReimer@gmail.com

Betsy Blanchard ’79 and Dorothy Rogers Young ’48 at Alan Flynn’s memorial service.

#THENNOWALWAYSRHS

Rocky Hill School’s Alumni Reunion was held on June 10, 2017, one day after 34 students from the Class of 2017 joined the ranks of Alumni. At Commencement, we were proud to see Monica Iacono Boss ’91 receive a well-deserved acknowledgment, the Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award, for her leadership and steadfast commitment to Rocky Hill School. (see page 30)

The School and the Alumni Association planned a full day of activities as we celebrated Alumni classes ending in 2 and 7 while giving all in attendance the opportunity to connect with classmates, faculty, and friends!

At the Alumni Association annual meeting, Alumni received a review of the state of the school by Dr. Jim Tracy where he shared the move to embracing innovation and partnerships around the world and in our own backyard. Newly-elected President of the Board of Trustees Don McCaughey P’23 shared the Board’s vision for the future and emphasized the

importance of the School’s Alumni as a critical part of that vision. Beth DeGerlia P’16, ’19, Assistant Head of School for External Affairs, shared accomplishments and impact Alumni play in the state of the School today including projects and fundraising successes.

The Alumni Association made great strides in formalizing the organization and updating the bylaws in 2017. The nominations and election for the 2017-2019 officers and board was led by Hannah Knowles ’08 with great success. With a vote held for both the new by-laws and board, the Association is poised to continue its great work on behalf of all Alumni in the years ahead. And a hearty thank you to the 2015-2017 leadership including President Sarah Shaw Siskin ’78, Vice President, Nathan Maine ’92, Treasurer, Lauren Koblick ’02, Secretary Sarah Taylor ’10, and the entire board for their service to the Association and the School over the last two years.

A festive “50th” theme kept the celebration going as Alumni and faculty gathered on the Hopeland’s front lawn for dinner and some fun. Thank you to Trixie Dumas ’81, Sarah Taylor ’10, Maria Emmons and Peter Hanney P’23, ’27 for the fun decorations that included Rocky Hill School memory boards highlighting the classes ending in 2 and 7, 50 years of The Crest, and 50 years of 12th grade graduates. Flik Dining, led by our very own Chef Jay, provided an outstanding meal which Alumni and friends enjoyed.

During Reunion, we held the Fourth Annual Alumni Scholarship Fund Silent Auction. The extensive auction included Red Sox tickets, RHS one of a kind Chatterley pottery, a FitBit, a Terry Coes print, Ruth Clegg’s etching, assorted gift baskets and gift cards, handmade jewelry, and so much more! Many thanks to the Alumni and friends who answered the call for auction items for this event!

The auction raised $1,365 to benefit the Alumni Scholarship Fund. Well done team!

In 2018, we will celebrate classes ending in 3 and 8. Please save the date for Reunion on June 2, 2018! Note that this is the Saturday before commencement.

Would you like to be on the planning committee? Please get in touch with the Alumni Office at alumni@rockyhill.org.

1 Faculty and Former Faculty Back Row: Liz Isdale, Peter Hanney, Sarah Taylor ’10, Beth DeGerlia, Mike Jedrey; Middle Row: Belinda Snyman, Bill Langlois ’74, Roxanne Card, Gerry Unger, Trixie Dumas ’81, Maria Emmons, Els Shine, Gary Monnier, Art Entwistle, Motria Holowinsky, Ernie Drew, Jim Tracy, Matt Gnolfo; Front Row (sitting): Sam Dumas ’79, Kathy and Ken Geiersbach 2 Class of 2007 Andrei Hanzel, Andrew Brown, Belinda Snyman, Connor Brown, and Andrew Fogarty

3 Class of 1971 Back Row: Luca Razza, Leo St. Onge, Paul Sacco; Front Row Seated: Dolores Scott, Roger Ray 4 Sally Kenyon Grant ’87 and former faculty members Gary Monnier, Els Shine, and Sarah Garcia-Mata 5 Class of 2016 Allison DeGerlia ’16, Malcolm Meyerson ’16, Ben Lanowy ’16, Douglas Cochran ’16, and Lauren Silva ’16 6 Bob Breslin ’87, Kristin Urbach ’87, Don Steinman ’87, Derrick Maloney ’87, Sally Kenyon Grant ’87, Els Shine, Kathy Geirsbach, Dave Gannon ’87 7 Class of 1987 Reunion Gift of a Memorial Tree dedicated to lost classmates Teresa Bechaz Ardente, Anne Brennan, Chris Patenaude, Billy Pine, and Chris White. 8 Class of 2002: Richard Koblick, Madison Koblick, Lauren (Friedman) Koblick ’02, Kristin (McLimans) Mitchell ’02

Rocky Hill School dedicated a tree in honor of Sarah Shaw Siskin ’78 for her service to Rocky Hill School and the Alumni Association. The Pink Flowering Dogwood (Cornus Florida Rubra) is located on the side of Hopelands across from the Alumni Garden. Sarah was Alumni President from 2013-2017 and Alumni Secretary from 2010-2013.

LIZ ISDALE P’16, ’22, DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS AND THE ROCKY HILL FUND