Roots and Wings - Spring 2017 by The Grammar School

The Grammar School spring 2017

www.thegrammarschool.org

message from the head s this year is coming to a close, I am profoundly optimistic about the future of TGS. My optimism is due, in large measure, to the educational philosophy, essential elements, and rich traditions of TGS in action. I am also optimistic about the opportunities facing us to creatively utilize our significant resources of people, program, and place to build on those traditions and strengthen the core of TGS.

The Perry family at the Medieval Faire L–R: Nick, Liz, Malcolm, Sarah, Maya

Table of Contents ..............................3 Celebrating the Core........ .............................4 Community Service .......... ............................5 ..... der Marcia and John Lea ..........................6 ..... me Global Education The an ’09 ..................7 Alumni Profile: Greer Cow nch Fre nt’s History Space: Vermo ......................8 Connection......................... lain mp Opinion: Protect Lake Cha ........................10 from Trump.................... 7.........................11 Upper School Musical 201 Projects ...............12 Southern Vermont Opus .............................13 Chichi .............................. ...........................14 Medieval Faire 2016 .......... ...........................15 Putney Mountain Hike ..... .............................16 Sports............................... Meeting Israel Arbiter, ......................18 Holocaust Survivor .......... .............................20 Art ................................... s Look Fourth and Fifth Grader .......................22 to the Future .................... ...........................23 Summer Camps.................

Cover: Field Day — Head of School Nick Perry does the balloon toss Photo by Justin Altman Editor: Mary Heller Osgood Assistant editor: Tara Meinhard Photography: David Hull, Justin Altman, and other submissions Design/production: Susan Kochinskas, Flocksholm Design

We draw on many strengths that will help us flourish well into the future. First and foremost, our community is built upon conscious partnerships which nurture and rejuvenate this institution. Healthy relationships between and among the students, teachers, parents, families, and alumni are abundant. Next, we are providing families with outstanding teachers in every grade to help us teach to our mission and vision. I would stack up our faculty, the greatest value to and lifeblood of TGS, against any PS–8 faculty anywhere. In addition to the incredibly talented and dedicated teachers you know, we have four new teachers this coming year who are going to be wonderful additions to our school: Alisha Cannon, first grade; Katherine Frey Ellison ’04, third grade; Annie Schulzinger, fourth grade; and Matt Mitchell, fifth grade. Our 60-acre campus is ready to be more fully explored and integrated, by all our teachers, into a broader nature-based curriculum. Furthermore, there is a collective desire among our community members to invest time, resources, and knowledge to help TGS thrive. Flourishing and dynamic organizations must adapt to changes and innovate, especially when experiencing the inevitable cycles of expansion and contraction. TGS is currently experiencing a time of relative contraction of our student body; like small day schools nationwide and regionally, the overwhelming trend is that the population of student age children is declining. However, it is also a time bursting with opportunities to strengthen our programs and reaffirm the unparalleled mission-driven education TGS provides for students. The TGS mission statement: As a small community of parents, students and teachers in conscious partnership, The Grammar School integrates high expectations for achievement, creativity, self-discipline, and social responsibility. We cultivate in each student a lifelong enthusiasm for learning, a strong sense of self, and a desire to contribute constructively to society. Our program provides students with an excellent academic, artistic, athletic, and ethical foundation. Remaining true to our mission, I envision that our integrated and experiential education will continue to engage the whole child while constructed on the following TGS pillars: • Academic vigor focusing on systems modeling, critical thinking, collaboration, and expressions of mastery • Community connections focusing on personal responsibility, service to others, civics, kindness, and civility • Stewardship of our environment focusing on natural systems, interconnectedness, and sustainability • Independent discovery and growth focusing on play, physical development, creativity, wonder, and inspiration My vision is that each TGS student — the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual being — upon commencement will enter the next phase of life with a love of learning across all discipline areas; a sense of joy in being outdoors; a commitment to environmental stewardship; a belief in one’s intrinsic value within the greater community and an understanding of what it means to accept personal responsibility, exhibit kindness, and live with integrity. Thank you for joining me as we proceed in partnership on this worthy journey. Warm regards, Nick Perry

roots&Wings spring2017 The Grammar School 69 Hickory Ridge Road, Putney, VT 05346 802.387.5364 info@thegrammarschool.org www.thegrammarschool.org Faculty and Staff Nick Perry, Head of School P ’28 Justin Altman ’95 Paqui Arroyo-Moyano Ken Brautigam P ’11, ’13 Kimberly Corwin Gray P ’23 Carol Cutts P ’01 Ponnie Derby P ’97 Laurie Fichter P ’04, ’06 Johanna Gardner P ’08, ’10 Scott Moore P ’21 Mary Heller Osgood ’68, P ’95, ’97 Paul “Hop” Hopkins P ’19, ’22 David Hull P ’19, ’22 Alli Lubin Kurt Lynch P ’26 Libby McCawley P ’07, ’09 Eve McDermott P ’06, ’08 Tara Meinhard ’88, P ’28 Tammy Neathawk P ’14, ’16 Kathy Richardson ’67, P ’02, ’03, ’05 Tracy Rodriguez P ’13, ’14 Jessica Sardinas P ’20, ’22 Jared Stolper P ’11, ’15 Michael Svensson P ’17 Michael Tholen Emily Weinberg P ’17, ’19 Board of Trustees 2017–2018 Chris Adams P’17 — Walpole, NH Kyra Chapin ’03, P ’25 — Putney, VT Katherine Cook P ’21– Walpole, NH Peter Cooper-Ellis ’68, Chair, P ’07, ’18, ’23 — West Chesterfield, NH Peter Eden, P ’22, ’25, ’28 — Walpole, NH Erika Gustafson ’91 — Medford, MA Michael Hornsby P ’18 — Putney, VT Peter Howe P ’03, ’06 — Alstead, NH Marcia Leader P ’82, ’85 — Putney, VT Maggie Smith P ’90, ’93 — Putney, VT Justin Sterner P ’24, ’26 — Walpole, NH Katherine Wagenbach P ’19, ’24 — Putney, VT Eric Velto P ’21, ’24 — Bellows Falls, VT Trustees Emeritus/Co-founders George* and Kitty Shumlin P ’69, ’70, ’74, GP ’05, ’06, ’09, ’12 Roy (Dick)* and Dottie Richardson P ’63, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’74, ’76, GP ’02, ’03, ’05 * deceased

Celebrating the Core

by Mary Heller Osgood

elebrating the core of The Grammar School while reinvigorating our initiatives is the focus of this issue of Roots & Wings. The appreciation and recognition of many strongly held traditions and events are integral to our values. When Nick arrived at TGS a year ago, he noted how many annual occurrences were in place and seemingly a matter of course. At various times last fall, I’m sure he was confronted with questions such as: “What is the Mummer’s Play?” “Tell me about Tuesday ski afternoons?” “When is the Putney Mountain Hike?” “When is the Thanksgiving baskets ASM?” “What day is the TGS Invitational?” “Where is Four Corners?”

Many traditions and aspects of day to day life at TGS have been going on for decades. Other more recent initiatives have become central to The Grammar School curriculum; Fill the Bus to help the Putney Foodshelf is three years old, while the Global Education Theme has become a significant aspect of all students’ experience throughout the year. This winter, TGS held a well-attended community contradance for the first time in many years. Nick has been impressed with how often he sees that students have the ability to respect protocol at the school and disconnect their actions from personal desires in the interest of common goals. As we move forward, we realize how important it is to build on what we have and to take care and appreciate what makes TGS exceptional. Recent comments from alumni reflect the continuing importance and influence of TGS in their lives. Eliza Salmon ’07 reflected, “TGS was the first school I went to where I felt like my way of learning was acceptable. At other schools, I would do projects ‘backwards’ or not ‘properly answer the question.’ TGS was educational freedom, and with that a form of identity freedom. I could be strange and still be loved, and thus I began to flourish into who I always was.” Isaac Freitas-Eagan ’14, a student at Brattleboro Union High School, commented, “I really love Nordic [skiing] and I realize that if I hadn’t been introduced to it at The Grammar School I may never have tried it. I am so thankful to people at the school for showing me how. It has easily become one of my greatest passions.”

Contradance he Grammar School reinstated a past tradition and held a contradance for the TGS community and friends. The event was very well attended and well received, and TGS plans to hold more dances in the future.

the grammar school

Community Service ommunity Service takes place throughout the year at The Grammar School. From the ongoing monthly food collection for the Putney Foodshelf to special community and fundraising events, the school community comes together to help people in need.

Nick ’18 and Hazel ’19 gather food for a Thanksgiving basket

As part of our Global Education Theme outreach, fifth and sixth graders held bake sales during the winter holiday concerts to raise money to help Syrian refugees resettling in Rutland, Vermont. In early 2016, the Student Council organized a drive that brought in over 575 pounds of food for the Putney Foodshelf. Last fall our annual Fill the Bus campaign for the Putney Foodshelf collected more than 600 pounds of food, while our end of year holiday donations gathered 310 pounds. In addition, TGS students made their traditional Thanksgiving baskets of items for a festive Thanksgiving dinner. Comments the Putney Foodshelf staff for last year’s donations: We were reviewing 2016 and were so impressed to see that TGS donated at least three times to the Foodshelf with huge donations of over 300 pounds each…last February, Top the Truck drive where you filled your bus first, and then just before Christmas. Thank you!

Students make cards for a basket

The Putney Foodshelf volunteers and most especially our recipients thank you all for the beautiful Thanksgiving baskets. We handed them out last night and folks were thrilled. It takes a lot of energy for you to pull those baskets together. We really appreciate it! Everyone has a right to food, especially at Thanksgiving time. Thanks for supporting us in such a loving way! Words cannot begin to express the gratitude from the Putney Foodshelf to The Grammar School….Because of the generous contribution from TGS and the folks in Putney, the Foodshelf will have food to feed the hungry families in our community for many months. Our hats go off to you for orchestrating the TGS drive and making this miracle happen. What an incredibly generous group of students, families, faculty, and staff you are.

Eighth graders bring food to the Putney Foodshelf truck

Students show samples of food items — L–R: Ibby ’19, Zinny ’19, Hannah ’22, Lucy ’22, Margaretta ’22, Charlie ’22, Ashtan ’24, Emma ’19, Hannah ’19

roots&Wings spring2017

Marcia and John Leader arcia and John Leader P ’83, ’86, GP ’10 have been dedicated members of the Grammar School community since 1980. Their service also includes work as faculty, administration, Board of Trustee, and Committee members. Marcia remembers that it all started one day when their 11 year old daughter Kelly announced, “I want to go to The Grammar School!” Marcia’s response was, “You want to go where?” From that day the Leaders never looked back.

John noted that learning was always very important to Kelly. She was ahead in her class at the public school and didn’t feel like she was getting enough attention to make a lot of progress. Most of the time she read and worked on her own. Though she was successful at school, she definitely was looking for a change, and her parents accommodated her desire to try a different educational setting. She started at The Grammar School in sixth grade, in the fall of 1980.

TGS worked out well for Kelly. As she said, “I feel that I was fortunate to experience excellence in my education, and that my parents paid for it then and continue to support these institutions. I plan to do no less, and I really hope to inspire others along the way to value education, and to give as much as they can to the excellent schools that deserve it.” Marcia recalls that it didn’t take long for the family to fall so in love with TGS that they decided to look for an independent school experience for their older daughter, as well. Jen was too old for TGS by then, and she headed off to Concord Academy for secondary school. Tom Leader, the youngest of John and Marcia’s three children, didn’t begin at TGS until Kelly graduated. According to his parents, Tom had not been very interested in academics. John said he asked him just to try TGS. “I told him, ‘Tom we’ll make a deal. You go to The Grammar School until after Thanksgiving, and then if you want to leave, no problem.” By the first of December that year, Tom hadn’t brought up anything about leaving, so I said, Tom, we had a deal — you can go back to your old school if you want.” He immediately responded, “Oh Dad, you wouldn’t make me!” And that was the end of that.” While Kelly and Tom attended TGS, Marcia kept her job as a nurse at the Austine School for the Deaf in Brattleboro. After they graduated, Marcia recalls that TGS Head of School Nancy Calicchio approached her and asked her to teach third grade the following year. Marcia said, “Teach? I’m a nurse!” But, Nancy convinced her to take some courses and she started teaching third grade in the fall of 1986.

At Ken Burns event at the Yale Club of New York in April 2014

Marcia spent 10 years as the third grade teacher, including several years as part time director of admissions. When her granddaughter Katelyn was born in 1996, she stopped teaching and focused on the admissions office. She retired from TGS

Bahamas

in 2009 and was elected to the Board of Trustees, where she just has completed her third term and was given emeritus status. John remembers that he became involved with TGS by a slightly different route than others in his family. His neighbor and long time TGS parent and trustee John Bookwalter P ’79, ’81, ’00, continually asked John to volunteer for TGS fundraisers, and for years he bought the meat and cooked the steaks at TGS spring auctions and other events. From that beginning, he was recruited to help in various other ways, including on BOT committees. He has served on the Finance Committee for many years. The Leaders also encouraged two of their grandchildren, Katelyn ’10 and Sean, to attend TGS. Sean often has returned to TGS during the summer to help coach at mountain bike camp, and Katelyn wrote recently that, “TGS was a huge part of my life.” Marcia emphasized that, “TGS is such a wonderful place and such a perfect school.” Kelly put it well: “My parents, especially my Mom, love TGS, and have always encouraged all of us to support the school in every way that we could. I now feel that more than anything, this taught me to value education first and foremost.” Of their almost four decades of commitment to TGS, both Leaders say, “It’s all because of Kelly.”

the grammar school

Global Education Theme he highlight of our 2016–2017 Global Education Theme (G.E.T) came in March, when TGS hosted a naturalization ceremony for 20 candidates from 15 countries. Judge Colleen Brown of Middlebury, mother of former TGS art teacher Hannah Richards, was the presiding judge. Head of School Nick Perry welcomed the new citizens and the fourth–sixth grade chorus, led by parent Peter Siegel, sang the National Anthem and Phil Ochs’ Power and Glory. The event was covered by Vermont Public Radio, the Brattleboro Reformer, The Commons, and WTSA radio.

G.E.T. is an integral part of the schoolwide curriculum at TGS, and underscores the significance of worldwide issues. As a parent stated, “The importance of understanding and appreciating our world beyond southern Vermont and New Hampshire is a necessary reality for our children who are internationally connected and who must feel a responsibility to that extended community.”

activity for the fall classes. Options included a musical about immigrant ancestors, migratory animals, Syrian refugees, and food origins. At all school meeting, several parents and grandparents shared stories about their families’ experiences immigrating to the United States. Every year faculty choose a topic of global importance to examine in depth. During the fall, students work in mixed age groups to study different aspects of the theme, which include activities related to climate, geography, and culture. TGS has been fortunate to have connections with a student from Tanzania, a family from India, and an alumna who taught in South Africa, so the school was able to take advantage of those relationships to create a meaningful, current curriculum. Last year the whole school studied the water, and how life depends on it, and the ways we need to share it as a global resource. A goal for every G.E.T.

The theme this year was migration and immigration, a topic that directly related to all students at the school. “What are the forces, factors, and reasons for human immigration, what are patterns of movement around the globe and why, and where do our ancestors come from?” have been the guiding questions for our yearlong study at TGS. All grades explored students’ family histories and ethnic heritage. Students in kindergarten–sixth grade chose one mixed age group

Head of School Nick Perry congratulates a new citizen

We Come from Everywhere musical

20 immigrants from 15 countries take the oath of allegiance to the United States.

Holding a flag for her mother

New citizens!

roots&Wings spring2017

exploration is to help students appreciate the relationships and interdependencies between people and their environments around the world.

Students learn where foods originated

Emmett ’22 tastes bannock bread

Making bannock bread

Alumni Profile: Greer Cowan ’09 reer has been engaged in community service activities since she was at TGS. As an eighth grader, she served as a legislative page in Montpelier, and after attending the Putney School she joined weaving teacher Melissa Johnson and other Putney students and alumni to set up a weaving workshop in Rwanda in partnership with the CHABHA organization. At the University of Vermont in the Community Development and Applied Economics department, Greer has worked with projects that recognize and promote the connections between social issues and environmental and economic sustainability in Vermont. She admits that her social conscience has led her in several directions, but what ties her causes together is her belief that all people deserve equal opportunities for employment, housing, and access to green open spaces.

A course on the economics of sustainability inspired Greer to research the problems and causes of pollution in Lake Champlain, which she discussed in Protect Lake Champlain from Trump, published in the Burlington Free Press. She makes the point that the consequences of cleaning up Lake Champlain would benefit all residents and visitors to Vermont. A public policy class taught by Professor Richard Watts (TGS ’73) looked at the effects of people moving into the state, and encouraged Greer to do independent research and assist in planning a conference hosted by the Center for Research on Vermont on immigration. With other students, she compiled a bibliography of sources of information on the history of Vermont immigration for distribution to people attending the conference, and she was part of a team that did all the planning for the conference. She had studied the impacts of French Canadian immigration in Vermont, and her focus for the conference was to promote the event by reaching out to French and history high school teachers, and co-writing an article for the Burlington Free Press, “History Space: Vermont’s French Connection.”

Greer feels that new immigrants and refugees would have a positive impact on the social and economic structure of the state. She related how the former mayor of Rutland (who had promoted resettling of Syrian refugees in the town) discussed the demographic problem of aging Vermonters. He said that without young Greer on a trip she took this winter to people life in the state would not be sustainable, and if people St. Lucia, where she spent 10 days as part of a class called Sustainable were educated on the specifics Community Development on Small of immigration and how Island States. rigorous the screening process is, that they would realize how much this could help our economy. She says her social conscience became focused as a result of her experiences in Burlington. There already is a crisis of refugees globally; refugees could be positive players and create opportunities in Vermont, if their impact is approached in the right way. New people with a different outlook could help the state become a more stable, vibrant economy. She noted that TGS does a good job of keeping students informed and focused on pertinent issues, and that this year’s G.E.T. study “sounds awesome!” With so many people working on the demographic and employment challenges facing the state, she is encouraged by Vermont’s future. Based on her projects at UVM, Greer received the Lowell L. Richards, III Fellowship for Leadership and Public Service in urban planning in Boston for this summer after graduation. Greer is looking forward to bringing her skills and knowledge to her urban planning fellowship this summer in Boston.

the grammar school

History Space: Vermont’s French Connection by David Massell, Greer Cowan and Richard Watts, For the Free Press ddie Card, the young French Canadian featured in the photo, was part of a vast wave of immigrants from Quebec who moved to Vermont and New England in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

A young girl stares into the camera, one arm hanging by her side, another propping her up against a loom. She wears a dirty smock and no shoes. (Photo: Courtesy of Library of Congress, National Child Labor Committee Collection)

Addie moved to North Pownal in southern Vermont with her mother and father in 1906 as they took jobs in a textile mill. To make ends meet, mother, father and children went to work. The conditions were hard, but they had left Quebec because life there was more difficult.

Addie stayed in the area, married twice, had one biological child, and one adoptive child, both of whom had children of their own. Her descendants are disseminated into the cultural fabric of the Northeast, perhaps unclear of their French-Canadian descent and the tremendous impact they had on a region starving for labor and new life.

Franconnexions The story of Addie is a story that played out tens and tens of thousands of times. French Canadians immigrated to Vermont and New England in search of work, and their heritage is now an essential part of our state’s ethnic diversity. While the majority of these first generation immigrants worked low-paying unskilled jobs, now the Bouchers, Clavelles and Paquettes are the farmers, business owners and political leaders that make Vermont the unique state that it is today. French-Canadian emigration to New England began as a trickle in the 1830s, Burlington and Winooski being the first communities to receive sizeable populations. Burlington’s own St. Joseph’s church of 1852 on the hill overlooking Winooski was in fact the first FrenchCatholic parish church on U.S. soil with a priest who spoke French. Winooski’s St. Francois Xavier parish would follow suit in 1868. The trickle became a floodtide after the end of the Civil War, with the majority settling further south and east, in Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. When the Great Depression

put a brake on the exodus, some 900,000 French Canadians had made the journey and stayed. How large is this number? The Canadian Census of 1931 indicated 2.8 million people in the entire province of Quebec. So by the time the wave of emigration had broken, an astounding one-third of the population of Quebec had uprooted to New England. All these small boys, and more, worked in the Chace Cotton Mill in Burlington. Many of the smallest ones had been there from one to three years. Only a few could speak English. Photo was taken by Lewis Hine in 1909. These are the names of some: Lahule Julian, Walter Walker, Herman Rotte, Arsone Lussier, Addones Oduet, Arthur Oduet, Alder Campbell, Eddie Marcotte, John Lavigne, Jo Bowdeon, Phil Lecryer, Joseph Granger.

(Photo: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Reason for push and pull The basic motive on the Quebec side, the “push,” was a lack of work. In the Quebec countryside, settled since Samuel Champlain’s time, there were now too many children for the available farmland. U.S. tariffs on Canadian produce, starting in 1866, hurt Quebec farmers trying to export their crops. And the province’s major urban center, Montreal, could not absorb the swelling numbers of landless poor. Just across the international border, meanwhile, there was the “pull” of industrial work. By the end of the Civil War, New England’s industrial sector was robust, especially in textile mills that produced cottons and woolens. And the managers of these factories welcomed new and relatively cheap labor, since French Canadians — men, women and children — worked dawn to dusk at wages considerably lower that the Yankee farm girls or Irish immigrants who had tended the spindles before. As of 1870, wrote historian Betsy Beattie, the Burlington Woolen Mill of Winooski paid an average of $1.09 for a 12-hour day; at roughly $20 in today’s currency, that amounts to $1.67 per hour. No wonder that children were called on to augment the family income. By 1900, 30 percent of textile workers of Massachusetts were French Canadian; 60 percent in New Hampshire and Maine. Geographic proximity was a driving force of this exodus. The impoverished farmlands of the St. Lawrence Valley sat cheek by jowl to industrializing and urbanizing New England towns and cities. And railroad and road access between the regions, including the Central Vermont Railroad which linked Montreal to St. Albans and Burlington and points south and east, made it relatively convenient and inexpensive to make the trip.

roots&Wings spring2017

(Winooski’s mills closed in 1954), and the drive for upward mobility among Franco-Americans themselves. Nor should we dismiss the homogenizing effects of television and the Cold War.

The legacy remains A view of Winooski, showing American Woolen Mills. (Photo: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Proximity to the homeland helped to keep Quebec traditions alive. So did the fact that so many of the immigrants lived in neighborhoods, or ghettos, and that the language of the factory floor could be French. By 1900, “little Canadas” (“petits Canadas”) dotted most Northeast cities, including Burlington and Winooski, complete with their own parochial schools, newspapers, churches, snowshoe clubs, festivals, and the like. As late as 1967, the historian Mason Wade could describe “the Franco-American’s remarkable resistance to assimilation in the general population, which surpasses that of any other American immigrant group.” French Canadians’ ability to retain language and culture — in combination with old-fashioned racism in the host community — fostered nativism in New England. In Vermont, one scholar described them as “an abominable crew of vagabonds, robust, lazy men and boys, slatternly women with litters of filthy brats….The character of these people is not such as to inspire the highest hope for the future of Vermont if they should become the most numerous of its population.” In Connecticut another asked: “Is our good old fashioned New England to pass into a middle age of mediocre brain and body; are we to become so foreignized that our [Puritan] virtues and culture are to become extinct?” In the end, French Canadians did become Americans, of course. The cauldron of the Second World War undoubtedly played a role, as did the closure of New England’s mills in the postwar period

A photo by Lewis Hine in 1909 shows young girls at the Chace Cotton Mill in Burlington. (Photo: Courtesy Fleming Museum)

Still, the legacy remains. In Vermont, nearly one in four families trace its ancestry to these farmers-turned-factory-workers who settled here between the 1830s and 1930s. Among these families are the Clavelles: Former Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle grew up in Winooski, and his family lived there through the 1990s. His grandfather had been a mill worker and his parents both spoke predominantly French. The FrancoAmerican influence can also be seen in local events. Winooski’s annual French Heritage Day, begun in 2015, provides an opportunity for Franco-Vermonters to celebrate their identity. So does the Flag Raising Ceremony that takes place during Francophonie Month to honor the connection between the city of Burlington and French culture. Similar celebrations have been cropping up across the state, in New England and beyond. While Addie lived a modest life, the image of her at age 12 became the face of the child labor movement. The Lewis Hine photo and collection of photos of child workers led to the creation of child labor laws. The image was printed as a 32-cent stamp, has a place in the Library of Congress, and inspired Elizabeth Winthrop to write the novel “Counting on Grace” that is used in elementary schools across New England. Today we are justly proud of our French-Canadian heritage. We are a region — and a nation — of immigrants. And we are richer for it. David Massell is the director of the Canadian Studies Program and Richard Watts is the director of the Center for Research on Vermont at the University of Vermont. Greer Cowan is a research intern and UVM senior. Information on the upcoming international conference at UVM can be found at French Connections/ franconnexions or at http://www.uvm.edu/~crvt/ Reprinted from the Burlington Free Press with permission.

Early immigrants from Quebec started farms and worked the land with Vermont farmers. (Photo: Photo courtesy Vermont Historical Society)

the grammar school

Opinion: Protect Lake Champlain from Trump

by Greer Cowan

ith a man who has promised to dismantle much of the Environmental Protection Agency months from moving in to the Oval Office, the future of Vermont’s natural resources lies in the hands of our state Legislature. With our largest and most iconic body of water already suffering the effects of phosphorous pollution, Lake Champlain is at greatest risk should EPA regulation be gutted.

The only regulation currently limiting emissions of phosphorus into Lake Champlain is an EPA policy called the Total Maximum Dumping Limit (TMDL). Champlain’s TMDL was renegotiated to be more stringent this past June, but with the EPA’s future in jeopardy, Vermont should enact state-enforced emission limits to protect this beautiful lake that is marred by ever-increasing algae blooms. Lake Champlain’s ability to absorb nutrients in the water system is a “sink” function of Vermont’s ecosystem. The lake is capable of absorbing a certain amount of waste and regenerating into usable material. But who holds the right to use the limited regenerative capacity of this natural system? The leading causes of phosphorus emission into the lake are agriculture, streambank erosion, and residential and commercial real estate development. According to the EPA report explaining the new TMDL regulations, these three sources emit 505.6 metric tons per year into the lake. Agriculture and land development are essential parts of Vermont’s economy. Vermont legislators need to enact a carefully crafted set of policies that limits emissions while protecting these key industries from carrying the entire economic burden of saving the lake. Farms import phosphorus through feed and fertilizer and export it through the goods they produce, such as milk, hay and grains. The amount of phosphorus in the fertilizer and feed greatly outweighs the amount exported in agricultural products because a large percentage of it ends up in the lake. This imbalance of phosphorus in our ecosystem damages the equilibrium of the water chemistry. The phosphorus feeds toxic algae blooms that suck oxygen out of the water, threatening fish populations and causing beach closures.

over the lake’s phosphorus absorption capacity. To address emissions through fertilizer for personal and non-agricultural uses, a high tax could be placed on emissions of phosphorus for activities that do not provide a public good, such as lawn care or landscaping. To address streambank erosion, two cost-sharing subsidies could be put in place. One for livestock fencing to assist farmers in complying with a new boundary limitation prohibiting livestock within a given distance of streams, brooks and rivers. Another aspect of this program would be assistance for land owners with stream-abutting property. These payments would help them comply with rules requiring a percentage of stream banks be reforested. Such policies would also renegotiate property rights, justifying public investment in subsidies to accommodate the new fencing and reforestation requirements.

We could regain a balance in the system through tradable phosphorus discharge permits. This policy would determine who has the right to deposit what percentage of pollution into Lake Champlain and place an overall cap on the total amount of phosphorus brought into the state for agriculture. The permits would be distributed to farmers for free, based on farm size and the total output the farm generates per year. Farms could buy and sell permits to each other, but permits would not be allowed to leave the agriculture sector.

To compensate for the phosphorus load created through development, a tax could be placed on all impervious surfaces associated with private development. A higher tax would be imposed on new development, to discourage the destruction of intact ecosystem services. A lower tax on existing development would encourage investment in sustainable redevelopment without over burdening the developers with high costs on current buildings. These taxes would shape the way land is developed, creating quantifiable advantages to leaving it undeveloped. Land in its untouched form is the best provider of clean water resources that foster other public goods such as the outdoor recreation opportunities and beautiful scenery that are crucial to both residents and tourists.

The permits would create new property rights, giving farms, which generate a public good through food production, a claim

Reprinted from the Burlington Free Press with permission.

roots&Wings spring2017

Upper School Musical 2017

ou’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown with Director Jessa Rowan, Musical Director/Producer Alli Lubin, and Backstage Manager/Production Assistant Sally Seymour GP ’13 was presented by the seventh and eighth grades in May. Members of the audience from preschool to grandparents appreciated seeing Charles Schulz’s beloved comic strip come to life in Clark Gesner’s classic musical. Brief vignettes spanned the months from Valentine’s Day to Beethoven Day as the characters navigated the joys and pitfalls of childhood, ending with the final song that realizes that “Happiness is anyone and anything at all that’s loved by you.”

L–R: Griselda ’17, Ethan ’17, Lucy ’18, Otis ’18, Robert ’17, Connor ’18, Sky ’17, Gavin ’18

The last time TGS performed You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown was in the late 1970s, and as Alicia Brelsford Dana watched her daughter Willa ’18 in this year’s production, she reminisced about being part of that first production.

James ’17, Ella ’17

L-–R: Willa ’18, Georgia ’18, Otis ’18, James ’17, Ella ’17

Rio ’17, Ethan ’17

Willa ’18

Nick ’18

the grammar school

Southern Vermont Opus Projects ’m excited to announce that we received a grant from the Vermont Arts Council (VAC) Artists-in-Schools Program for composer/mentor Erik Nielsen from Music-COMP (formerly Vermont Midi Project) to come to Putney for three sessions last winter, to work with our students. I applied for the grant in conjunction with Putney Central School’s new music teacher, Josh Fields. Erik was at TGS in the morning and PCS in the afternoon and we shared travel expenses, which weren’t covered by the grant. VAC was especially enthusiastic about the idea because it involved our two local schools working together. This year’s project culminated with a spring TGS Opus sharing.

As I collect the photographs, music files, videos, and articles, from my 25 years of participation in this amazing project, I’m remembering all the bright, enthusiastic students who took advantage of this creative opportunity and were selected to have their works performed Jamie Lumley ’12 & Alli Lubin by professional musicians. People’s lives have been enriched by this music composition competition, students have begun to think of themselves as composers, and the spark of creativity has been permanently ignited. It is an honor to have been able to mentor and guide these creative students. Now it’s time to celebrate them! Former TGS Opus selected composers include: Jacob Knapp, Miles Hume, Colin Clark, Brooke Mooney, Katelyn Donovan,

Opus 32 entrants from TGS — Back row L–R: Nielsen ’20, Ellis ’20, Cyrus ’20, teacher Alli Lubin, Gabby ’20, mentor Erik Nielsen, Lilly ’20, Sofie ’20, Sadie ’20, Isabelle ’20. Front row L–R: Zinny ’19, Emma ’19, Annie ’19

by Alli Lubin Julian Stolper, Tim Quimby, Nathaniel Todd Long, Antonia Dufort, Michaela Shea-Gander, Lucie Foster, Ona Hauert, Claire Thomas, Jamie Lumley, Libby Green, Russell Boswell, Isaac Freitas-Eagan, Luke Cuerdon, Andres Rodriguez, Ethan Foster, Robin McOwen, Molly Durling, Miranda Opus 32 selected winner Isabelle ’20 with Fuller, Ivy Dall, music teacher Alli Lubin and Music COMP lead Aicher Hearon, mentor Erik Nielsen Gracie Childs, Andrew Brooks, Collette Anton, Sophie Basescu, Ella Warner, Garrett Weil, Wells Mundell-Wood, Amelia Opsahl, Darius Parker, Zoe Robb, and Allison Cooper-Ellis. “The live performance experience is such a reward,” writes Sandi MacLeod, Executive Director of Music-COMP. “When music comes from living, breathing musicians, there is an energy and vibrancy that the computer can’t imitate.” More of Alli’s Opus photos may be viewed at: https://www.facebook.com/alli.lubin/media_set?set=a.102103660 97742821.1073741881.1653906659&type=1&l=5e0794c78e&__m ref=message_bubble

roots&Wings spring2017

Chichi Williams ’99

Mural photos by Justin Altman

hichi Williams returned to TGS to lead an all school mural project during the week of May 15. Chichi had visited and taught some classes a year ago, and introduced her new project at All School Meeting in April.

Chichi poses in front of her mural the 69th floor of the World Trade Center, which depicts the history of New York City through images of women’s faces

Upper School students finish up the mural

With fifth graders in front of the mural (in progress). L–R: Sadie, Sofie, Cyrus, Chichi, Gabby, Lilly, Nielsen, Kyran, Milo, Ellis, Isabelle

Describing the project for TGS students Signing her name on the entryway mural at TGS

L–R: Third graders Emmett, Elan, Atticus, Cabot

the grammar school

Medieval Faire 2016 he 24th Medieval Faire was “better than ever,” a comment heard many times during the day. More than 1000 fairegoers enjoyed games, rides, jousting, and a delicious feast, including giant sized “King’s drumsticks”. King Arthur, and Queen Guinevere, and their court presided over the festivities and performed knighting ceremonies for young lords and ladies who completed their quests during the Faire.

Many former parents, teachers, and alumni were sighted at the Faire as well, often with families in tow. A special treat this year was the return of Anne Black, mother of Jen ’92 and Andrew ’95, who was the inspiration for the expansion and traditions of the Medieval Faire almost 30 years ago. As she noted, she was “the one who brought the faire outdoors, and added the ‘e.’”

Head of School Nick Perry with Director of Admissions Justin Altman ’95

John ’21

Owl on exhibit from the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum

Medieval joker Nick ’18 Human size chessboard on the field

Parents help Plant Manager Kurt Lynch P ’26 set up the Flying Dragon ride

Third grade teacher Emily Weinberg helps Lilly ’20 with archery

River ’23 tries out the slingshot

Children wait for prizes from the catapult

Marcia Leader has been at every Medieval Faire since its inception

roots&Wings spring2017

Flying Dragon

Medieval families visit the Faire

Elan ’22

Putney Mountain Hike

Henry ’24, Kole ’24, Sophie ’23, Sadie ’20, Isabelle ’20, Charlie ’26, Cabot ‘22

Oscar ’21 and Milo ’20 on the Elephant Tree

All School Meeting and Sing

the grammar school

Sports continued its successful soccer and running programs last fall. Veteran soccer coaches Mike Tholen and Ezlerh Oreste, assisted by Dudley Blossom P ’20, led two teams to a final victory at the end of the season. As an addition to the program this year, coach Ezlerh Oreste held a soccer camp for a dozen interested students the week before school at the end of the summer. The players were enthusiastic about their experience, and we hope to expand that program this summer.

TGS

The Grammar School hosted its annual TGS Fun Run and TGS Invitational in October. Cross country running teams from several area elementary and middle schools attended the events. More than 85 runners from Academy, Putney Central, Ludlow Elementary, and The Grammar School competed in the TGS Fun Run at Green Mountain Orchards on October 12, 2016. Five schools, including Academy, Putney Central, Ludlow Elementary, BAMS, and The Grammar School brought almost 120 runners to the TGS Invitational on October 19 at The Grammar School.

Abijah ’17and Nathaniel playing for TGS

Early winter! For the first time in several years, TGS students were able to play in the snow at school in December. Most grades had a chance to get out on cross-country skis before the holidays. There was still plenty of snow on the ground when we returned to school in January, and thanks to Kurt Lynch’s trail grooming skills, we had excellent skiing to start off the season. TGS managed to keep skiable snow through a long January thaw, and all students were on cross-country skis throughout the winter. February brought real snow (and several snow days)! Ethan ’17 defends the goal

Vivienne ’28 runs with Sophie ’23

Lollipop runners Dexter ’24, Sebastian ’26, Eden ’27, Luke ‘26

Spring trail runners take a dip in the brook near the Ravine Trail

roots&Wings spring2017

Bayley ’17

Coach Tammy with K-1-2 soccer players

Coach Mike Tholen with team

Cole James ’25

Ellis ’20 runs in TGS Invitational

Alli ’18 hands out lollipops at the end of the run

The intrepid mountain bikers were unfazed by the cold, wet rides on the trails this spring.

Heading out for PSD

(Above) Flying saucers at recess

(Right) Zinnia ’18 at Okemo

the grammar school

Meeting Israel Arbiter, Holocaust Survivor by Laurie Penfield Fichter n Boston, on November 16, my eighth graders had an experience of a lifetime. At The New England Holocaust Memorial, we met Israel Arbiter, a 91-year old Holocaust survivor from Poland. For over an hour, Israel, a friendly, sensitive, humorous, talkative, and emotional man, told us of his heartbreaking and inspirational experiences during WWII. Israel was a 14-year old Jewish boy in 1941, when he and his family were rounded up in a pogrom and sent to a Nazi death camp. That was the first of four Nazi camps for Israel. What Israel lived through defies belief, but, as he said to us, “Here I am.” The eighth graders wrote of our time with Israel. It is their words I will use to tell his story.

River ’23 and Kaitlin ‘23 skiing at PSD

Third grade PSD

Israel began his story with a warning, which Griselda included in her reminiscence: “Israel said that when we left his talk, some of us might not believe what he said, because the story is so horrific.” Sky recalls, “Israel is one of only 9% of Jews in Poland to survive.” “To hear his story is both captivating and tear-jerking,” Virginia writes. Cassidy adds, “Through tears and astonishment, the group followed every word carefully.” Israel asked the students how old they were and, when they said 13 and 14, he replied “I was your age when the Nazis took my family to Germany. I was your age.” At 14, Israel stood on a train platform at Dachau and watched as the Jewish prisoners were divided into two groups. Israel and his older brother were sent to the right, while his parents and his 7year-old brother were sent to the left. Israel ran over to stand with his parents, but, as Bayley recounts, “Israel’s father said “Go over there, so you can live.” Those were the last words he ever heard from his father.” The Nazis murdered Israel’s parents and brother in 1941.

Kindergarten and first grade at Grafton Ponds

(Above) Malo ’23 at Okemo (Right) Nick at Okemo

Israel was forced to work for the Nazis in a munitions factory and on a farm. He had latrine duty at a work camp, where he caught typhus. Israel was sent to quarantine barracks with 87 ill prisoners. Ella and Abijah recount: “The Nazis decided to shoot

A close up of the numbers of the Jewish victims of Nazi atrocities etched into the glass

roots&Wings spring2017

Israel Arbiter shows Griselda ’17 and the rest of the class his WWII Jewish identification tattoo, forced on him by Nazi command.

the sick men. Israel could barely stand up, but, when he heard the Nazis were coming to the infirmary, he jumped out the window, ran to his old barracks, and hid. Israel’s friends were threatened, but they did not forsake Israel. Eighty-six Jewish men were massacred that day, but Israel escaped. The Nazis finally believed that all the prisoners with typhus were killed. Israel had a one in a million chance of living and, it turns out, he was that one.” Ethan states: “Israel worked so hard to stay alive, but there were so many times where his life was on the line and his survival was based on luck.” At one point, Israel was starving to death. “Fortunately, his brother was alive and he knew a girl who worked in the camp’s kitchen.” This girl, at the risk of immediate death, stole food and smuggled it to Israel, by placing it under a fence between the

women and men’s camps. That this girl, who fed Israel scraps, is now his wife of 70 years, “is maybe the sweetest, most meaningful story about love I have ever heard,” Addy writes. After the war, James recalls how, “Israel stole a motorcycle, found the girl who gave him food, and married her.” “Israel’s experience is one of heart-wrenching tales, but with a happy ending,” concludes Maddie. Griselda researched The New England Holocaust Memorial before our visit, and she informed the class that the numbers on the six glass columns were the tattoo numbers of the murdered Jews. After his talk, Griselda asked Israel if he had a tattoo. Virginia noted “There is one more detail he showed us that made me want to cry: The tattoo the Nazis branded Jews with. Israel has one: # A-18651.” He rolled up his sleeve and showed it to us. We were silent, as tears fell. Alex notes, “The number of tragic and horrible things that happened to Israel is incredible. Listening to Israel’s story was one of the saddest, most powerful, and amazing stories I have ever heard.” Izlin mused, “I don’t even think there is a strong enough word to describe the Holocaust.” Ethan ends his essay powerfully: “I found every aspect of Israel’s story inspiring: How strong he was, the hardships he endured, and how lucky he was. But, most of all, I am amazed by how he kept hope through everything he had to go through.” Bryn concludes that, “Israel’s adolescence was stolen from him by the people who murdered his family, by his time in the death camps, and by the time he spent fighting for his life. The difficult times he went through make my problems seem small and irrelevant, which makes me appreciate the life I have more.” Bayley posits: “I think Israel Arbiter should write an autobiography. I would buy it and read it, to learn more about his extraordinary life.” I believe we all feel this way. Israel Arbiter’s time with us was a gift none of us will ever forget.”

Looking down the row of 6 glass columns which represent the smokestacks at the Nazi death camps

A pensive Sky and James read the numbers of murdered Jews.

the grammar school

Art rt teacher Scott Moore P ’21 joined the TGS team in September 2016. Scott, his wife Marcy, and sons Rafael and Antonio relocated from Taos, New Mexico last summer, and Antonio entered the fourth grade at TGS in the fall.

Scott’s work as an educator, artist, and musician finds a natural synthesis in an experiential approach to learning in his classroom, where the visual arts are part of a deeply integrated and immersive experience at TGS. He believes that the arts and visual literacy hold an important place in facilitating environmental stewardship and community empowerment, as well as in developing strategies for everyday challenges. While working as a visual artist, musician, and as a visiting artist in the Taos Municipal Schools, Scott also founded and directed Beautiful Midden, Restoring Land Through Art Activism and Education. Beautiful Midden is an art and environmental activism project that encourages the local community to investigate its relationship to place by using art as an effervescent instrument of self reflection, conversation, and dynamic social change. In honor of TGS traditions and the Medieval Faire, Scott began the fall term with an all school dragon project, which explored the basic elements of drawing and creating visual narratives. Other projects included kindergarten and first grade color relationships, second and third grade ink drawings, fourth and fifth grade Picasso self portraits, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade calendar pictures, and eighth grade sculpture.

Cabot ’22

Hannah ’22

The kindergarten and first grade classes explored various aspects of color and color relationships by studying the work of different artists. One activity was to look at the paintings and drawings of Wassily Kandinsky and his color wheels. Students used oil pastels to create art concentric circles, while considering how colors can create emotional connections. Students created the drawings while listening to Chopin’s Nocturnes. The second and third grade painted India ink trees, which was a follow up project to a week of carefully drawing tree parts with close observation. To prepare for the activity, students practiced moving their bodies like a growing tree, starting from a curled up seed that sprouted legs as roots, and then a strong trunk and arms as branches, and finally leaves as fingers. They next made drawings using Indian ink with ball pipets and straws. Below the horizon line they put a large drop of India ink as the seed to start, and then grew the roots, trunks, and limbs by dragging and blowing the ink with ball pipets and straws. In some of these beautiful and energized drawings, some students even added creatures that might live in the trees. The fourth and fifth grades focused on Picasso portraits. Students looked at a number of portraits painted by Pablo Picasso over his lifetime, focusing on the series of work featuring Dora Maar, his muse during the 1920s and 30s. They studied how Picasso chose to extend the traditional idea of portraiture by depicting multiple views (frontal/profile) of the

Lucy ’22

roots&Wings spring2017

Sadie ’20

Oscar ’21

Sofie ’20

face simultaneously in one painting. Scott notes that the motto of the day was “weird is good,” which was a liberating idea for a fun and challenging assignment.

able to develop content and delegation of responsibilities. Leading up to the general election, this project also focused on the difference between art and propaganda.

Students made self-portraits from at least two different perspectives. Their primary concern was how Picasso chose to extend the traditional idea of portraiture by depicting multiple views (frontal/profile) of the face simultaneously in one painting. As an extension of the drawing project, the next activity was to create masks. Students assembled multiple views of the face by cutting and joining blank costume masks with paper mache. The final painting of the masks relates to faces in an earlier Picasso masterpiece form 1907, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.

The upper school students also made a field trip to Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts where they saw many large-scale immersive exhibits, including a densely multi-layered installation by the artist American artist Nick Cave.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth grades used the annual TGS student art calendar to create one picture per class. Each image required collaboration and discussion, and was finalized through the process of consensus building. Following this year's global education theme of immigration/migration, the students were

The eighth graders explored outside site specific sculpture by using only materials from the environment, which they then incorporated back into the environment in a new way. The delicate and ephemeral aspects of this project allowed some of these pieces to exist only for a few minutes, while others were constructed to last through the seasons. This activity gave students the opportunity to admire the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy through a sculptural process and to develop their own relationship to these life forces that surround us every day. Scott says, “As the new art teacher at The Grammar School, I would like to sincerely thank my faculty and staff colleagues in the for the warm welcome and continual support this year, both as a teacher and parent of a fifth grader. I also want to thank parents for their contributions to the art room supplies, and I am grateful for having this opportunity to help nourish the hungry appetites for the visual arts for all TGS students.”

John ’21

Antonio ’21

Gabrielle ’20

the grammar school

Fourth and Fifth Graders Look to the Future arly in the school year, parents Dudley Blossom P ’20 and Deb Velto P ’21, ’24 organized a community building event for the fourth/fifth grade combined classroom. Goals were to bring parents and children together in a fun, all inclusive social gathering that created reminders of our time together and included activities that would be valuable to the TGS community for the long term.

The focus of the evening was on long term planning for the future. The first task was the ceremonial planting of a Liberty Elm tree, the culminating activity of the class unit on botany. The next project was to build a permanent installation on campus that students could have a central role in creating, which involved the construction of a fire pit and the burying of a time capsule. The adults provided the guidance, the tools, and a big pile of rocks, and the students did the rest. They decided to have a bonfire (and, of course food and s’mores) to celebrate the event. English teacher Tara Meinhard P ’28 worked with the students to write letters to their future selves at age 18, and they also brought pictures and something personal to include in the time capsule. Several newspapers and circulars representing the date also were included and the time capsule was sealed, decorated, signed, and buried below the bottom of the fire pit.

Classmates and their siblings toast the capsule before burial

The students hope to return to TGS for a class reunion to see the elm tree and open the capsule when they graduate from high school.

(Above) Ready to plant the elm tree (Left) John ’21, Gabby ’20, and Isabelle ’20 prepare the hole for the elm tree

Parents Dudley Blossom P ’20 and Jack Bell P ’20 with a power auger to aid with digging

Dinner provided by the parents

S’mores!

roots&Wings spring2017

Summer Camps at The Grammar School 2017 ummer Camps at The Grammar School will focus on arts and the outdoors this year. The general camp director will be longtime TGS seventh grade and upper school science teacher Paul (Hop) Hopkins P ’19, ’22. While many of the activities from past years will remain part of the curriculum, Hop’s goal is to have the camp reflect more of who we are and what we do on a daily basis at TGS. The popular mountain bike camp will continue to be run by Daq Woods and his skilled assistants.

Each week there will be a different, coherent theme, which will define how the teachers structure and present their activities. Campers will be broken up into age groups, including preschool, rising kindergarten–second graders, rising third–fifth graders, and rising sixth–eighth graders.

Ropes course

Structured classes and activities, including lunch, will run from 9:00am–1:30pm Monday–Friday, followed by lunch swimming at the Putney Pool until 3:00pm. Campers may sign up for one, two, or three weeks of camp. The three weekly themes for the preschool camp are June 26–30, Enchanted Worlds; July 3–7 (with no camp held on the Fourth of July), Exploring the Natural World; and July 10–14, Colorful Creations. The three sessions for kindergarten–eighth are Back to Nature, Traditions, and Myths and Magic. Registration forms are on The Grammar School website. Please go to http://thegrammarschool.org/summer/ for more information.

Young Explorers!

Baking

Bead making

Mountain biking

802.387.5364

info@thegrammarschool.org www.thegrammarschool.org

TGS Summer Camps June 26–30 PS Enchanted Worlds K-8 Back to Nature July 3–7 Fou (with no camp held on the

rth of July)

World PS Exploring the Natural s K-8 Tradition July 10–14 PS Colorful Creations K-8 Myths and Magic

Class of 2017!

Back row L–R: Cassidy, Bryn, Ethan, Teacher Laurie Fichter, Bayley, Virginia, Rio Middle row L–R: Alex, Ella, Maddie, Addy, Izlin, Griselda Front row L–R: Sky, James, Robert, Abijah Photo by Rachel Portesi P ’17, ’22