Oak Leaves - The Power of the Personal in Education - Fall/Winter 2019

Oak Leaves ABINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL IN THIS ISSUE A Scrapbook of Photos Fun Facts about AFS Annual Report

FALL/ WINTER 2019

The Power of the Personal in Education

How Teachers and Students Learn With Each Other

“Teaching and learning in the context of relationships allows us to keep issues whole, connecting technical skills to ethical issues, to socio-historical context, to the emotional impact learning can have at its most powerful...�

- Rich Nourie

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHO OL

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amilies and teachers alike who are new to AFS are sometimes surprised that teachers are called by their first names. Most of us have grown up with the custom of honorifics for adults when addressed by children, so witnessing that teachers and students are on a first-name basis can be a little jarring for folks at first.

The practice of calling teachers by their first names, common at most Friends schools, is rooted in the Quaker testimony of equality and a principled approach to the concept of authority. Early Quakers were wary of positional power— the idea that a title alone conferred authority. Instead, they preferred to recognize a more genuine source of authority in a person’s wisdom, care, expertise or experience, qualities that should be acknowledged and respected regardless of position.

In this Friends school culture, a teacher’s authority is not conferred so much as lived each day in their subject matter expertise, the careful planning they do for their classes and the care and commitment they have for their students. And the culture also makes room for the authentic authority to be found in students’ voices, in their work, in their fresh perspective and in areas that they inspire passion.

What I love about this culture is the unusual pairing of relative informality and high expectations. The informality invites openness, honesty and the type of searching and vulnerability that the deepest learning requires. The high expectations are for profound respect for each other and the value of the work we are doing together in and out of the classroom, for

full engagement, hard work and a continual, shared search for excellence.

In this issue of Oak Leaves, we lift up the transformative power of authentic relationships in learning. Close relationships with teachers ensure that students are wellknown in their interests, developing passions and ideas, in their life story and where they are, literally, coming from.

Being seen clearly, affirmed and challenged leads to the most genuine and lasting learning.

Teaching and learning in the context of relationships allows us to keep issues whole, connecting technical skills to ethical issues, to socio-historical context, to the emotional impact learning can have at its most powerful. Learning with a caring, talented and knowledgeable teacher opens the door to honest feedback in both directions. It also invites questions about what this learning is for and where it is leading. This is education as empowerment and an education with moral meaning.

And so we honor the interpersonal relationships that exist between teacher and student with some truly beautiful examples in this issue of Oak Leaves. May these stories evoke memories for alumni and provide a wonderful window into an AFS education for current parents and students.

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COVER STORY

AFS IN PHOTOS

Richard F. Nourie, Head of School Devin Schlickmann, Director of Admission and Assistant Head of School for Institutional Advancement Bonita Huggins, Director of Communications and Editor of Oak Leaves Lisa Budd, Director of Alumni Engagement Melissa Calder, Director of Marketing King Design LLC, Publication Design Oak Leaves is a publication of the AFS Communications and Development Offices.

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O N T H E C OV E R Photography by Melissa Kelly P H OTO G R A P H Y Photography by: Rebecca Barger, Bonita Huggins, Melissa Kelly, Ryan Samson '07 and Maria Young Christy Heitger-Ewing, Research and Copywriting Freelancer Abington Friends School main switchboard: 215.886.4350 For more photos and news, visit us online at abingtonfriends.net

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Messages From Our Alumni Office

Annual Report To Donors

77 Tales From Our Past

ANNUAL

REPORT

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LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

6 M I L ESTO N ES 70

CLASS NOTES

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IN MEMORIAM

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E N D N O T E Lifelong Lea rning : An Ed uca tor Pa ying it Forward 5

O A K L E AV E S M I L E S T O N E S

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STEVE CHADWIN RETIREMENT

The entire Abington Friends School community watched as a new athletics center transformed the campus and built upon the momentum of a flourishing athletics program. Upwards of 1,300 community members gathered for the Grand Opening of the Richard N. Berman Athletics Center, and the 4th Annual Family Barbecue on Friday, September 6. It was a wonderful celebration to kick-off a new school year.

Revered educator and coach Steve Chadwin retired from Abington Friends School this summer after 40 years of service to the school. Head of School Rich Nourie said, “Steve’s love of our school community, deep affinity for our mission and values, unreserved commitment to students and remarkable record of accomplishment are true gifts to celebrate.”

This past May, the cast and crew of the Upper School Spring production As You Like It traveled to the Greater Philadelphia Cappies Gala. Twelve members of the AFS company were nominated in nine different categories, including Stage Management, Lighting, Lead Actor in a Play and Comic Actor and Actress in a Play.

The group proudly celebrated Nick Cideciyan '21, who was named Best Featured Actor and honored with a Spirit Award.

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Steve, affectionately known as Coach C., has served as a P.E. teacher; a coach of Varsity Boys Basketball, Varsity and Middle School Baseball; Varsity and Middle School Softball; and as our Athletics Director. He holds an impressive 646-301 record as a Varsity Basketball coach and 16 Friends Schools League Championship titles. More than 60 of his players, over the years, have gone on to play basketball at the collegiate level. u

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Arbor Day The sun shone brightly as the AFS school community came together to celebrate the arrival of spring and reaffirm our commitment to caring for the earth with the annual Arbor Day celebration in May. The classes of 2019 and 2030 ceremoniously turned over a shovelful of dirt to signify their ties to the class trees that were planted on campus in their honor. Keeping with a tradition that dates back to the 1930s or earlier, students danced around Maypoles to joyfully conclude the yearly event. Elizabeth Baah ‘20 accepted the symbolical shovel from Paige Osbourne ‘19, which passed the leadership from one class to the next.

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The Grand Opening of the Richard N. Berman Athletics Center and 4th Annual Family Barbecue made for an amazing start to the school year. Families, friends, alumni and faculty came together for a spirited celebration of our flourishing school in September.

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Spring in the Josephine Muller Auditorium The Upper School theatre production of As You Like It treated audiences to a celebration of love, music, and spring with one of Shakespeare’s most beloved and rollicking comedies. The production was directed by Megan Bellwoar Hollinger, All-School Arts Department Chair. The Lower School productions “Sing What the Spirit Says Sing” (Early Childhood & Kindergarten) and “One Great Idea” (First through Fourth Grade) were written and directed by Lower School Music Teacher, Keisha Hirlinger. Keisha said after the performances, “I feel inspired and honored to do this every day. I feel proud of these students and so fortunate. I love my job and I love what I do.”

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Eighth Grade Independent Study & Crossing Boundaries This past spring, the class of 2023 presented their Eighth Grade Independent Study (EGIS) projects to family, friends and faculty. The students spent their last year in Middle School pursuing a subject of interest that falls outside of their regular curriculum and deepened their knowledge of that topic with the guidance of mentors and their eighth-grade advisors.

Families and friends also witnessed impressive presentations from the class of 2024 in Crossing Boundaries.

Students studied people of their own choosing who have crossed boundaries to make a difference in the world. After writing a formal essay, they presented their findings in different formats— research papers, monologues, Ted Talks, documentaries, children’s stories and websites. The students lifted up individuals including: David Bowie, Harriet Tubman, Nikola Tesla, Barack Obama, Frida Kahlo, Elon Musk, Tupac and Misty Copeland.

See more on the Abington Friends School Instagram and Facebook pages 13

STEAM Night Close to every inch of AFS was filled with creativity, excitement and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) as family and friends came out for one of the school’s most popular spring events. The night’s activities included live animals from the Academy of Natural Sciences, the opportunity to operate the Robotics team’s robot, a studentbuilt wind tunnel and students joyfully presenting the results of their various experiments.

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Middle School Science Goes Up, Up and Away This spring, the skies were friendly for the Middle School launch of high altitude balloons. Over the course of 7 weeks, teacher Michael McGlinn’s eighth grade science classes worked in teams tackling areas such as Logistics, Project Management, Experimental Design, Technology and Predictions and Modeling to build a high altitude weather balloon. The students contacted the FAA for safety approval, engineered the payloads (the structure tied to the balloon that houses the equipment and a camera to film the journey), and ran extensive models and predictions to give the project its best chance at success.

You can watch the launch from the vantage point of a drone camera on the AFS You Tube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/ AbingtonFriendsVideo

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ABINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL

Scrapbook Spring Athletics A host of AFS Upper School spring season student-athletes were recognized by Friends Schools League (FSL) coaches in their sport as being worthy of All-Friends Schools League First Team or Honorable Mention recognition for excellence in skill and sportsmanship.

AFS Varsity Track & Field recorded one of the spring season’s most impressive highlights at the Friends Schools League Championship meets on Saturday, May 11. Strong individual performances pushed the boys’ team to a 50 point finish, marking one of AFS’s best placements in our track and field history. Jack Balick ‘19 placed first overall in the 1600 meters and Chase Balick ‘19 won the 800 meters.

Jack Balick also picked up a second place medal in the 800 meters, while Taalib Holloman ‘19 claimed 3 silver medals in high jump, 100 meters and 200 meters. Paige Osborne ‘19 placed second overall in the discus. All four of these Roos have continued their athletic careers at the collegiate level (see page 20).

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ABINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL

Scrapbook The Center for Experiential Learning: Global Travel Rooted in the Quaker belief that experience is a student’s most powerful teacher, the Center for Experiential Learning fosters opportunities to connect with people, places and ideas. Through the Global Travel Program, Upper School Students have the opportunity to travel abroad to have realworld experiences. This year, students traveled to Paris and Yellowstone National Park, among other locations.

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Scrapbook We are so proud of our Class of 2019 graduates who have embarked on their first year at college. Our 64 most recent graduates will attend 49 different schools including Haverford College, the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts, William & Mary, Vanderbilt, The University of Chicago, Pitt, Drexel, Wake Forest, Brandeis and Syracuse.

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SEVEN GRADUATES FROM THE CLASS OF 2019 ARE CONTINUING THEIR ATHLETIC CAREERS IN COLLEGE

Chase Balick Syracuse University - Track & Field Jack Balick University of Pittsburgh - Track & Field Taalib Holloman Wilmington University - Basketball Michelle Lebed Loyola University Maryland - Swimming Trent Miller Sacred Heart University - Fencing Katherine Mitchell University of Toronto - Figure Skating Paige Osborne Mt. Holyoke College - Soccer

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Fields of Study L I BERA L A RT S ST EM

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Commencement We ended the 2019-2020 school year with a glorious evening Commencement in the Grove of the Meeting House on June 7. Members of the 322nd class exemplify the hope and promise that AFS alumni bring to our future.

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At Abington Friends School, there is a spirit of community that is authentic and ambitious. The Quaker Testimonies that guide us are Simplicity, Integrity, Equality, Community, Stewardship and Peace. These values are not just talked about at AFS, they are very much part of the fabric of the school.

Within the Quaker testimonies we can see the foundation for a transformative, interpersonal education. To lead a life of Simplicity, one must remember what is important; to have strong Integrity one must value trust and the worthiness of relationships. Equality means one must respect different people and ideas, and Community is achieved by the embrace of interconnectedness and collective purpose. Stewardship leads us to instill a sense of social responsibility in students, and to fully seek Peace one must desire a just and fair world for all.

A deep connection and mutual respect between student and teacher is essential to fully realize the core tenets of a Quaker education.

Here, we share how AFS educators and students learn and grow through genuine relationships and together achieve lives of powerful purpose.

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AMY DIAZ NEWMAN Upper School Art Teacher HANNAH BLANCO Class of 2020

When you sit down with Upper School Studio Art Teacher, Amy Diaz Newman and Senior Hannah Blanco, you might notice that they share a physical resemblance— perhaps they could be cousins or sisters. Once they begin to speak, you’re struck by how they seem to have a similar internal rhythm.

It is easy to feel the depth of the bond and mutual respect between student and teacher. Amy attributes this connection to something “sort of magical,” that seemingly linked the two before they had even met each other.

“Hannah’s parents took her to a lot of concerts and events as a child and unbeknownst to either of us, we both happened to be in various places at the same time,” says Amy. “We both saw Joanna Newsome, a harpist and singer, perform at an amazing concert in Philadelphia.

I was there with my husband and Hannah was there as a 7-year-old,” she explains. “Obviously, we didn’t know each other, but we bonded over the fact that we both love this artist and we were both there.” This is only one of several examples of their coincidental overlaps. Amy reflects, “Hannah is kind of an old soul and she’s familiar with a lot of pop culture, music, movies and things that are dear to me and my generation.”

Hannah came to AFS in the ninth grade, a short time after her mother passed away from cancer.

Hannah’s previous school was small and the idea of going to another

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school, let alone a big public school, was terrifying. She joined Amy’s advisory at the start of her ninthgrade year and says, “AFS was reassuring and I felt comfortable.”

In advisory, groups of 8 to 10 students are together for homebase and various activities throughout their time in Upper School. Amy describes this advisory time as “a unique opportunity for interpersonal relationships to develop.” Amy says, “We have conversations as an advisory about things that are happening in the school community or in the world that are more authentic. [It is an] opportunity for people to have a safe space to talk about things from the heart.”

Hannah also became a student in many of Amy’s visual art classes over the course of her time at AFS. For this story, the two collaborated to create a piece of art as a visual representation of their relationship.

Hannah loves creating artwork around very detailed, small objects and brought in several items she found in nature from her personal collection to consider using in the joint piece with Amy. They settled on a colorful seed pod that Hannah painted; Amy drew a pencil sketch of Hannah where she is holding the pod. “I hadn’t made a serious drawing in a while so it was good to have a catalyst to do that,” shares Amy. “It feels special because it’s the last year I’ll be with Hannah; she has been a really lovely student to teach. I could really put my heart into it.”

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STORY

For this story, the two collaborated to create a piece of art as a visual representation of their relationship.

Amy described the creation of the piece as typical of their collaborations, where there is push and pull and they challenge each other. She talked Hannah through a hesitant moment when it came to using watercolor on the piece.

Hannah says, “Watercolor is so free and it’s hard to control where it goes and I like control. So, it’s fun to play with because it challenges me in having to be okay with it drying right there and I can’t change how it looks.”

This push and pull element of Amy and Hannah’s relationship goes beyond the art classroom. Hannah notes, “I had some struggles in my math courses and I was super stressed and thinking I shouldn’t be here. Amy was very adamant about me not [switching my class] and made sure that I stuck with it. I tried harder and I improved. She always pushes me to not give up even if I’m a little stressed or feeling like I’m not good enough. I think that’s going to be important in college. It is going to be a big change and I’m going to have classes that challenge me and now I have it in my head: don’t give up, keep trying and push yourself.”

Hannah plans to study Marine Biology in college and says, “I am definitely going to take art classes, but I think that’s a solid part of my life that’s been consistent and I’m okay with it not being the only thing in my life. I’m really drawn to science and nature.”

On the notion of Hannah heading off to college, Amy says, “I think that it’s letting the little bird go. I’ll be excited to hear about her life after AFS and I have confidence in her, so it’s easier to end this phase of our relationship knowing that she’s so talented and capable.”

AF S S TUDENT S

intellectually curious

Explore the why and how, not just the what Challenge the status-quo Are creative and clever

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MARY LYNN ELLIS Upper School English Teacher, English Dept Chair LUCY SILBAUGH ‘16 Yale University Class of 2020

Q: Lucy, tell me about your first memories of Mary Lynn.

A: I was in seventh grade, in Ferne Moffson’s English class. Mary Lynn was visiting the class because she was the department chair, and we were writing response poems to To Kill a Mockingbird. I read mine aloud for the class and Mary Lynn gave me a little nod of approval and that felt like such a big deal because she was this hot-shot upper-school teacher!

Q: Mary Lynn, do you recall that meeting?

A: I remember doing that workshop.

And I am sure Lucy is recalling the nod correctly. It is always a delight to discover someone new whose love for language is evident. I do remember the first serious story Lucy gave me to read. I can still feel myself in the setting she so vividly described–a kitchen, the dad tuning in to a classical station to try to connect with his daughter and son, both musicians. I can still hear the rain on the roof, leaking into cracks in the ceiling as the story ended.

Q: How did Mary Lynn’s presence in your life become pivotal in your AFS education?

A: In eighth grade, I was thinking about switching away from AFS for high school when my teacher told me I should talk to Mary Lynn. In part, I assume it was to convince me to stay, but also because I’d written

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a story she thought could use some revision. I went to the Upper School during snack time, and Mary Lynn and I sat on a bench and talked about my story.

That was definitely the first time that I had received really concrete, helpful feedback about a piece of writing. It’s crazy to hear myself say that now, because I’m an English major so I am taking edits and revising constantly. It’s astonishing to realize that there was a first time.

And even though the feedback was constructive and certainly not laudatory, I think the attention and care with which those criticisms were delivered made it feel like a compliment. I was touched that she had taken the time to read my story so carefully and not just say “very good” but actually come up with real things to say about it. I remember feeling genuinely excited to revise that story.

Q: In what ways did Mary Lynn influence and nurture your writing?

A: When I moved up to the upper school at AFS and Mary Lynn saw me in the hallway, she waved at me and said that if I was writing something, I should show it to her because she had information about writing contests. That began what I think was the real core of our high school relationship, which included her invaluable writing mentorship, her teaching, and her function as a really superb editor. From that

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The very first paper conference I had in college, the professor asked me, “Where did you learn to write like this?” point on, for the next few years, I gave every story I wrote to Mary Lynn. We had many meetings on that very same bench, and every time I had that memorable feeling of pride and responsibility. It made me sit up straighter when she was talking about my stories to me.

I felt like I was being taken seriously.

I was really being asked to bring it up a level.

Q: Mary Lynn, what’s one of the most exciting things for you to witness in a student’s growth as a writer?

A: There is nothing more wonderful than meeting with a student about ideas they are trying mightily to translate into words. I call it “wrestling the alligator,” and I am only being partly metaphorical.

It is just that hard sometimes! It’s especially wonderful when a student is an enthusiastic writer and you’re both having fun, but there’s also the deep-breath-out kind of moment when a student says, as one did recently, “I’m more of a math/ science kid, but I loved writing

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those three different introductions to my college essay. I can see the rest of the essay now.” All of the classroom reading and writing work is really about the life work ahead.

Seeing possibilities, trying something new, starting again, discovering as you write what you didn’t know you knew.

Q: How did working with Lucy help you to grow as an educator?

A: Lucy has always been passionate about writing, and any day with one of our bench meetings was a good day. Really, hours could fly by doing that work of untangling and discovering together. When kids peer review one another’s work, I ask them to be generous— remembering that this is a person vulnerably sharing their truth—but also rigorous, really helping their classmate to do that work of shaping their sentences for the best possible clarity and power. So doing that for and with Lucy was a true joy. Lucy worked on writing stories and linked stories and poems and essays in our time together. We read a lot, too, recommending books and writers to each other. I’d often share pieces of writing I admired as models for her to learn some subtle tricks of the trade from. Lucy was a quick study and she learned a lot from the “alligator-wrestling” we did together. And so did I. Looking together at the beauty of the precise word, the provocative image, or the small but telling character trait

helped me become a better reader and writer right along with her—and that made me a better teacher for other students, too.

Q: What was it like having Mary Lynn as a writing mentor?

A: I would always have this feeling of relief when I would give Mary Lynn a story…to put my story in the hands of a real professional and expert diagnostician. Then the rest was easy because Mary Lynn’s line edits were so perceptive; she could tell immediately where the one rotten plank in the story was, or where it seemed like a huge mess but actually you just needed to insert this one little scene that would shore up the whole thing.

Q: How, specifically, did Mary Lynn help you grow as a writer?

A: She never wrote sentences for me. I don’t even think she suggested specific words. Maybe if she thought an adjective didn’t feel right, she would suggest three options or something. But she would never actually pick a word. It never felt like it was being handed to me, but the acuity of her diagnoses was relieving to me. That’s an example of the high-quality editorial attention that I think a lot of people don’t get until college. It not only made me an immeasurably better writer when I did come to college, but it also made me a much better editor.

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Even for some of my friends who are really talented writers themselves, I think it’s hard to know how much you should suggest solutions and how much you should just point out a problem.

It can be hard to tell what’s too much, what’s not enough. Having had my own stories under the eyes of such a talented teacher/craftsperson/story-doctor, gave me a sense for that balance.

Q: Lucy, how did receiving constructive feedback help you stretch in the writing field?

A: I have a positive relationship with revision because of those experiences with Mary Lynn. Revision feels like the fun part. You generate the material and then you clean it up. You determine what the problems are and then you fix them; it’s procedural and satisfying. A lot of my peers generally have trouble revising. They feel it’s like pulling teeth, but I think I’ve actually succeeded in college in many ways by being a good reviser—or basically by being a good assessor of my own bad writing!

Kids that go to AFS leave the school strong writers. The very first paper conference I had in college, the professor asked me, “Where did you learn to write like this?” And I thought, “Wow! She framed that question so perfectly.” She could tell that it’s not that my ideas were so brilliant; it was the environment, the teaching. Knowing what a five-paragraph essay is and how to posit a controversial thesis—you would be astonished by how many really smart people in college, who got great grades in high school, were never taught these fundamentals. So from

the standpoint of technical proficiency, I was never behind my peers. I often felt profoundly grateful for what I had already learned at AFS.

AF S S TUDENT S

Q: Mary Lynn, how does your mentorship style help teach that revision is not to be feared but rather embraced?

A: I laugh to hear Lucy say revision is the fun part. That is a true writer speaking. But there have been so many times when a not-so-instinctive young writer has turned in a short piece, clearly having struggled in front of a blank screen or a first draft, thinking, “I wrote all I had. What the heck does she mean ‘Dig deeper?!’” When a few genuinely curious questions in a writing conference about the story’s scene or the essay’s argument or the poem’s music lets a writer see more, and say more, that’s the fun part!

Q: Lucy, how did your bond with Mary Lynn evolve from studentteacher to peer-to-peer in a community of writers sort of sense?

A: It definitely was a special moment for me, or kind of a moment of transition, when Mary Lynn started sending me her stuff, too. It was towards the end of my senior year. I remember realizing that it was the first time I was reading Mary Lynn’s own poetry. Initially, I didn’t provide any feedback. I just said, “Oh, these are so great,” which they were. But when I was in college there was a month where every day she sent me a poem that she had written on a postcard, which was

Able to understand and effectively interact with various cultures and perspectives Have high expectations and respect for diversity and inclusion Recognize that diversity contributes to the richness of our society

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incredible. It made that month of my freshman year better, but it was also super special that Mary Lynn had written these; seeing the master do her thing [was magical.] When she later gave me a few more poems and said, “I’d love to hear your thoughts on these,” I could tell it was sliding a little more into reciprocal feedback. I feel really grateful for the way that our relationship has transformed into something that feels sustainable and mutual.

Q: Mary Lynn, how do you demonstrate your writing process to your students?

A: I try to write as often as possible with my students during our daily “Writer of the Day” prompts. I don’t share every day, but often enough for them to hear my own playing with words and ideas, where my early drafts clunk and where they start to find a music. Learning to arrange the best words into the best order for a poem definitely helps one learn to organize the best paragraphs in the best order for an eventual essay on Hamlet or a personal statement for a college application.

Q: Lucy, why do you think interpersonal relationships between teacher and student is so critical?

A: The emphasis that AFS places on interpersonal relationships and the way students get to know their teachers is priceless and, without

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a doubt, the best thing I took away from AFS. Because, even though Mary Lynn is a standout example of an academic mentor for me, I also had and have similarly strong and special relationships with other teachers at AFS. I think it’s rare that you would ever have a teacher at AFS and not feel that you sort of knew them as a person, too. That is kind of incredible! I think most people might have one teacher from high school that they had this kind of bond with, to the degree that they might visit that person’s classroom if they returned to the school. That’s the level of connection and attachment that I feel towards all of my teachers at AFS. Q: Lucy, what, in your opinion, is the difference between “connecting” and “networking”?

A: It’s incredibly important, and really hard, to push back against that modern mode of “connection” [that you get with, say, LinkedIn] instead of [nurturing] real personto-person connections. But AFS does teach you how to create authentic mentorship relationships, ones where there’s still equality and mutual caring, mutual benefit, even when you are not peers. I think it’s a way of interacting with people in power, a way of humanizing them.

This is a pretty big danger of the networking mentality, actually—that you start thinking about people in terms of the pathways they can open to you instead of what

they, themselves, are. AFS really teaches you to view your friends and teachers not as means to other ends but as ends themselves. It’s impossible for me to see Mary Lynn as a “resource” because she is so emphatically a person to me.

Q: Mary Lynn, what’s it like to nurture and relish these relationships with students?

A: Lucy has put her finger on an essential truth: that teachers and students at AFS are emphatically people to one another and that’s part of what makes the learning and teaching so rewarding. At this point, Lucy and I have shared so many stories and poems—the ones we are writing and the ones we are living. I trust her criticism every bit as much as she has trusted mine over the years. I cannot wait to hold her first book in my hands.

I feel utterly blessed to have so many student-turned-friend relationships from my years at AFS. Honestly, they are my best poems.

Those sustained connections, and knowing that what we give our students, a braiding of the personal and the academic, enables them to confidently pursue their own dreams and pay it forward—as activists, entrepreneurs, artists, writers, scientists, teachers.

STORY

JORDAN BURKEY Upper School Physics Teacher YOLANDA DU Class of 2020

Sometimes teachers and students connect over a shared passion for the subject matter. Other times they connect based on similar personality types or senses of humor. At the core of all teacher and student bonds is a genuine and deep sense of care and respect. Such is the case for Upper School Physics Teacher, Jordan Burkey and Senior, Yolanda Du. “Our students, in general, amaze me all the time. Yolanda is so smart, just naturally gifted, so she has really impressed me. So many AFS students are academically strong and also talented in many other ways,” says Jordan. “Every day I’m blown away by the quality of academics and talent I see in these kids and I feel honored to work with them.”

Yolanda appreciates all the extra time Jordan sacrifices to help her academically, often devoting his lunch breaks to advise and guide her studies. He insists that she needs no extra help academically, though Yolanda insists that their talks have made a world of difference in growing her self-confidence.

This school year, Jordan has been helping Yolanda prepare to take the SAT II subject test in physics as she prepares to apply to competitive colleges.

“Last year, in class, after tests sometimes students would be sad because Jordan’s tests are always so hard, but he would always say, ‘No, you guys are so smart. Smarter

than I am.’ He’s so positive and encouraging,” says Yolanda.

In every class he teaches, Jordan makes sure his students know that their voice is valued, and Yolanda undoubtedly feels heard.

“My voice is definitely valued [here at AFS] in my conversations with teachers, advisors and counselors,” says Yolanda. “They are there for me…Every faculty member I talk to has been very supportive of me.”

Because Jordan has students who are functioning at different ability levels in his physics class, he sometimes has to teach them calculus within the first couple weeks of the semester.

“They are going to be learning this stuff in math in a lot more detail and pick it apart, but I need [them] to just use it right now,” explains Jordan.

“The analogy I use is that it’s the difference between learning how to use a wrench and how to make a wrench. In math class, [they’ll] learn how to make that wrench, but I teach [them] how to use the wrench to solve the problem [that’s in front of them].”

Jordan appreciates the fact that these are teenagers whose minds and personalities are still maturing.

They are dealing with the stress of grades and part-time jobs, sports and extracurriculars and their social and home lives. That’s why Jordan makes it his job to always lift up his students. It is an easy task for him because Jordan emphatically

35

YOLANDA DU & JORDAN BURKEY 36 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

THE

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IN EDUCATION

believes in each of them.

“He’s very convincing. He’s always saying, ‘You’ve got this,’” says Yolanda. “He repeats a positive message and gives me a lot of confidence. Most teachers don’t [offer that kind of] praise.”

Jordan is happy to be a cheerleader, but with students like Yolanda, it comes naturally.

“She’s so dedicated. If I say, ‘Go read up on this next section,’ I know that the next time I see her, she’ll be ready to talk about it,” says Jordan.

“I know she’s going to do the work and so I want to do everything I can to be there for her.”

And according to Jordan, being there is part of the fun. He mentions a special multivariable calculus class that was run for Yolanda and two other seniors who had completed the AP math curriculum.

“You can just see the minds of these three mathematicians thinking about these physics problems in a very different way,” says Jordan.

“Instead of moving from one physics problem to the next, they ask, ‘If there are two solutions to this problem, what does the other solution mean?’ It’s an example of where I get to learn from them as much as they’re learning from me.”

He notes that it also speaks to why he entered the field of education.

“I learned physics from people who liked to hold it over their students’ heads, speaking about physics as this thing that they knew and maybe

you’ll be lucky enough to learn some of it from them but if not, too bad.

You’re just not as smart,” recalls Jordan, who didn’t appreciate that haughty mode of instruction. When he received a C- in physics during his freshman year in college, his confidence was shaken and for a time, he wondered where his future would take him.

AF S S TUDENT S

“When I decided to teach, I didn’t want students to go to college and have the experience I had so I intentionally let them know that [learning this subject matter] is doable,” says Jordan. As one might imagine, taking this approach to instruction yields astoundingly positive results.

“That’s where the best moments in class are—when you see the look on a student’s face [that tells you] they suddenly understand something… or someone has a question that allows you to probe deeper into the problem,” says Jordan, who feels that straight lecture is boring for students. He says it’s the interaction and engagement that makes learning fun. Besides, the end goal is to prepare students to go out into the world, whatever that next step might be.

Unwavering passion to bring about positive change Intentions align with values Prepared for a life of purpose and success

“It’s their education,” says Jordan.

“They are making it happen and creating it as they go.”

37

THE

INTERVIEW

OF THE

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IN EDUCATION

JUSTIN SOLONYNKA Middle School Mathematics Teacher, Co-Head Coach, Middle School Wrestling CLAY LEWIS Class of 2022

Justin: How do you remember us first getting to know each other?

Clay: Well, I know that we probably first met at meeting (both are members of the Abington Monthly Meeting), but I would have been really young. I definitely got to know you when I was in 5th grade, before I started at AFS. I went to three or four summer wrestling practices with my brother (Cole Lewis ‘20), because he said, “You should do wrestling when you go to AFS.” And I wasn’t so sure, but then I went to a few practices, and it was really fun. And you and Coach Dave (Robinson) were running those practices.

Justin: At what point did you say, “Oh, wow, this is my sport”? Was it all the way back then?

Clay: I didn’t really associate those practices with the actual sport of wrestling. They were more for getting in shape, so I don’t think it was then. I probably realized that wrestling was my sport halfway through sixth grade when you had me on the middle school team.

Justin: I read your essay about wrestling that was published in Friends Journal (https://www. friendsjournal.org/wrestling-withdefeat/). That was fantastic. Is this something that you still grapple with, the idea of being a Quaker and being a wrestler? Where are you at with that now?

38 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

Clay: I think I’m pretty solid with the conclusion I came to in that piece.

I’m sound in my understanding that wrestling isn’t actually a violent sport. You’re not trying to hurt someone. Quakerism says that violence isn’t a solution for problems. And I feel like the (makes air quotes) “violence” that occurs in wrestling isn’t like, “We’re fighting because we have a problem and we’re going to solve it by throwing hands, man.” This is organized.

We’re going to do this in a respectful way, and we’re going to shake hands and we’re good.

Justin: OK, let’s talk about music.

Clay: Yeah, I wanted to ask you…I’m interested in your role with music at meeting. I feel like at some point I saw you playing piano and everyone around you was singing, and I was like, “Oh, you do that? That’s kinda cool.” How did that start?

Justin: Well, music is such a huge part of my own spiritual path. And I felt like people wanted more music at our meeting. It wasn’t like I was this lone voice in the wilderness and everybody else was like, “No! No music in meeting!” So it ended up being kind of a nice match because there are all these lovely little opportunities to do music there. I mean, you and I have done a ton of music there together. How about you? How did you get into music?

Clay: My mom used to have gigs

JUSTIN SOLONYNKA & CLAY LEWIS

39

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where she would go out and sing when I was like 7 or so. And my dad played guitar. So I had a lot of music around me but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it.

And at that time I was much more introverted than I am now, so I was like, “I don’t really want to do stuff in front of people because it’s kind of weird.”

Justin: (laughs) Yeah. I still feel that way sometimes.

Clay: I think it started to be something I really enjoy when I was in sixth grade at AFS, because my mom and my brother had convinced me to do musical theater.

Before that I was like, “There’s no way I’m doing that. I’m not getting on a stage ever.” And they said, “You’ll enjoy it! You should do it.” So I did Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and I loved singing in that, and at that point I’d also been playing drums for a while. And then I started playing drums in the upper school pit orchestras and started doing jazz band. But I think my musical interests all really started from that sixth-grade musical.

because I wanted to get a big role, but I was a sixth-grader who had never done a show before, so they just made me an Oompa-Loompa.

But I was like, “All right, if I’m gonna be an Oompa-Loompa, I’m gonna be an Oompa-Loompa.” So I was singing that song and doing that dance, and people were noticing it. And after the show, even though I was just an Oompa-Loompa, people were like, “You were a good Oompa-Loompa, dude. Like, you rocked that.”

instruments, and the thunder tube, and the crank instrument, and a microphone so I could make cat noises and burp.

Justin: (laughing) Is that true? Are you just making that up?

Clay: Yeah! It was that. And I had, like, five or six other percussion instruments with me.

Clay: No, I’m telling you! People were like, “You were a really good Oompa-Loompa!” And I was like, “OK, thanks, man!” Because, you know, I’d decided that I really needed to do this if I was going to do it.

Justin: Did you feel supported by the Middle School Theatre program? I mean, did middle school help with your transition to becoming the rock star you are today?

Justin: Right. I love that about theater. But for me, personally, the thing that most excites me is the collaborative part of it. Truly one of the best experiences I have ever had in musical theater was when you and I collaborated on Peter and the Starcatcher. Getting to work with you on that show was nuts.

I just remember us being in the pit, and we were stuffed into along with a piano--what was it, like 10 feet by 5 feet?

Clay: (laughs) Well, I was a little disappointed in that first show

Clay: Yeah. I had a snare, and a floor tom, and two different spoon

40 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

Justin: Oh right, you had to burp on command!

Clay: Actually, I think you made the cat noises. Oh, and you were the crocodile!

Justin: (Makes the crocodile noise.)

Justin: But what was exciting for me was getting to genuinely collaborate with you. You would say things like, “How about this?” and I’d say, “That sounds great!” It was like one big experiment, and you and I were lab partners.

Clay: There was a lot of liberty with what we could use because we didn’t actually have all of the things that the score said we needed. So there were a lot of times we were saying, “All right, we need to make this sound. How are we gonna do that?” And because of all the things we had to make up on our own, it felt more like we were doing it together.

Justin: On top of all these interests, you’re also a skilled mathematician.

What was your experience of

INTERVIEW

middle school math in my class?

Clay: That was awesome. I liked math before, so that probably helped, but I do really well in a class environment where it’s a little more chill and I feel like I have a relationship with the teacher.

That was something that I really appreciated about your class.

Justin: I think that’s true with our middle school faculty as a whole.

We genuinely want to build those relationships with students.

Clay: Yeah. I feel like when I can have a relationship with teachers outside of class, have good conversations with them, then when I’m inside the classroom I don’t feel as stressed about it. And when I’m not stressed, I can do and learn so much more.

Justin: So how do you imagine your life after AFS will be influenced by the ways we’ve collaborated and connected? I mean, it’s helpful that we’re both Quaker and we’re at the same meeting, so wherever you go, I can’t imagine that I’m not going to stay in touch with you. How do you think the ways we’ve connected might inform your future post-AFS?

Justin: Is that because you have so many interests? A diversity of talents?

Clay: It’s kind of interesting because a lot of my diverse talents are ones we share with each other.

Like math and music and…I don’t know if Quakerism is really a talent. (laughs)

AF S S TUDENT S

Justin: Well, it’s a spiritual… starting place.

Clay: I think, during and after college, whatever I do, you are someone that I can come to either for mentorship or for a collaboration or with some little thing like, “Oh, I’m at college for musical theater now. Can you help me with this?”

Justin: Absolutely.

Clay: Whatever I end up doing, because of the connection that we’ve had with each other, we’re still going to be able to talk about the things that I’m doing and the things that you’re doing and that’ll be great.

Able to use concepts from all disciplines to understand complex problems and to innovate to solve them Understand and change structures that are not functioning well

Justin: The feeling is mutual.

Clay: Well, right now I still don’t really know what I want to do at all.

I have some ideas, but it’s not like I’m saying “Oh, I’m going to be a doctor and I’m gonna go through med school and…”

41

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RASHEEDA MURPHY Lower School Science Teacher

In Lower School Science Teacher Rasheeda Murphy’s classroom, the motto is “Cogito, Ergo Sum” or “I think, therefore I am.” Along with all of her fellow AFS educators, she fosters a lifelong love of learning and creativity in her students.

However, her ambitions are unique, in that the school’s youngest children are empowered to find joy in touching worms and bugs, digging in the dirt, and exploring mold and fungus. Not every student comes to Rasheeda’s classroom with an innate love of science or the outdoors, but they develop a respect for the nature outside their classroom walls through her careful guidance and encouragement.

Rasheeda says, “I feel like the students are comfortable enough to trust me and then they learn how to trust themselves—to think out loud and explore outcomes to different activities. I often don’t expect them to complete a task in an exact way, and there’s never a time when I say, ‘No, this isn’t right.’ However, I do encourage them to dig deeper and find avenues to discover the answers to their questions. The goal of lower school science is to foster a love of science.”

Rasheeda also heads the Center for Experiential Learning’s “AFS Outside,” which is a school-wide outdoor learning program designed to connect children in sustained and meaningful ways with the living-world while fully realizing the enormous potential of the AFS campus.

42 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

“AFS has invested in making sure students have certified outdoor classroom spaces available for regular classroom teachers to utilize as alternative learning spaces in order to encourage our students to embrace the outside environment,” says Rasheeda.

Students in Rasheeda’s classes, which range from kindergarten to fourth grade, explore the school’s science garden and walk through the campus arboretum and along Jenkintown Creek, which runs behind the school. Students discover many creatures and environments that are unfamiliar to them in this explorative learning, especially the youngest students. Rasheeda explains, “I introduce the students to being naturalists and embracing their ability to learn about the many unknowns in our environment. I encourage those students who are afraid to touch bugs to touch bugs and I encourage students who are afraid to get wet to put on their rain boots and jump around in puddles.”

During the 2018-2019 school year, Rasheeda and her classes noticed a family of carpenter bees living outside the door to the science garden. A few students refused to walk out of that door, so Rasheeda decided to create a bulletin board about bees that included specimens and information about insects.

Students were able to see many of the bees that they are most afraid of close-up and learn whether they are aggressive or not. After that, students began to identify the bees they encountered and because

STORY

they knew their habits, they were less apprehensive to be around them.

Part of Rasheeda’s desire to join the faculty at AFS was her passion for inquiry-based discovery learning.

She’s carried this passion into her classroom and explains that she teaches students, “the importance of asking ‘Well, how do you know?’”

She says, “Asking for proof is okay because there’s a difference between a thought, a theory and a law. It can’t be a law until it’s absolutely proven true. My students are able to think critically about big questions and break the questions down according to what they already know.”

AFS students come to the classroom with a wealth of scientific knowledge.

Rasheeda says, “They’ve read a lot of books about science, watched the Discovery Channel and other documentaries, and visited museums both near and far.” She says, “A student might bring a question to class that is very broad. I may be the first teacher who has ever had to say to them, ‘I don’t know, but we can research it.’ Then, we can look it up as a class because I’m always willing to learn alongside them.”

RASHEEDA MURPHY 43

SCHOOL FRIENDS ABINGTON

ANNUAL

REPORT

2018-2019 44

45 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

November 2019

Dear Friends, We are thrilled to reintroduce our Annual Report this year, as part of the Fall/Winter edition of Oak Leaves.

On behalf of everyone at Abington Friends School, it is an honor for the Advancement Office to publicly recognize the alumni, parents, school committee, friends, faculty and staff who have helped lift up our school in this past year through their philanthropic support. We have so much for which to be thankful!

We plan to share the Annual Report with you each fall, with a twofold goal in mind. First, and most importantly, we wish to express our sincere appreciation for all of our generous donors. In addition, we hope to underscore the critical role that philanthropy plays in the current and future success of our school – and to call upon everyone in the AFS community to consider playing their part.

Gifts to Abington Friends School support our mission to prepare tomorrow’s leaders through our uniquely thoughtful, dynamic and spirited educational program. We are deeply grateful to all of the donors listed in the pages to follow who made a gift to AFS between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 in support of that mission.

We hope that every member of the AFS community will consider joining these donors in the 2019-2020 school year. Every gift, large and small, makes a difference, and here’s why.

Every gift supports something remarkable here at our School. An eye-opening student visit to a surgery simulation lab at Abington Hospital through our MedEx program. A life-changing Quaker education unwritten by tuition assistance. An incredible new athletics, wellness and community space on campus. Gifts to AFS - whether $10 or the $1,000+ Head of School Society level - support the myriad people, programs and facilities that make this community so vibrant.

Every gift to AFS is a tangible way to say this is a place that matters. This is a community that matters. This is an education that matters. Beyond their practical purpose, gifts to AFS also serve an important symbolic purpose. Every gift represents a vote of confidence in AFS, and in the distinct Quaker education and values that we are imparting to our students.

I extend our heartfelt thanks to all of those who made a gift in the 2018-2019 school year. With your continued support, we are excited to accomplish great things together in the year ahead.

With gratitude,

DEVIN SCHLICKMANN ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

46

NO BETTER PLACE Lori & Ross Shanken P’17 P’20 P’24 Share Why They Invest In AFS The first time Lori and Ross Shanken stepped onto the campus of Abington Friends School, they immediately felt at home. Though initially they were visiting the school with their second child, Noah, who was about to enter first grade, they recognized that it might be a good fit for their older daughter, Carly, as well. Ross and Lori invited Carly to participate in a two-day visit at AFS. Lori vividly recalls her firstborn’s reaction to the experience.

This care encompasses social, emotional, spiritual and academic needs. For example, the Shankens mention Jared’s kindergarten teacher, who invited the class to weigh in on specific subjects they would like to learn during the year. The students were intrigued by airplanes so the teacher explained how airplanes worked and flew, then took them on a field trip to the Aerospace Museum and even invited pilots to come talk to them.

“She came out of a third-grade class with an excitement I hadn’t seen in the previous two years of public school,” says Lori. “She was a different kid—so alive! Wow! That did it. I just couldn’t believe it.”

“What a great way to start at AFS,” says Ross. “It set [our son] up to love learning, be interested, curious, and feel support as he’s doing that.”

Though academics weighed into their decision, what most struck the couple was the sense of self that AFS encourages students to explore and embrace.

“It’s a real beneficial aspect of the AFS community— you being who you are and that being okay and being celebrated,” says Ross, noting that while Noah is interested in athletics, Carly, from a young age, was laser focused on pursuing a career in the medical field (she’s now a junior at Drexel in the nursing program).

“She used to do knee replacement simulations on the computer when she was really little!” recalls Ross. “The exposure to the broad segments of society that can really benefit from better health care and her caring about those people has grown substantially and I think the AFS community has impacted her views pretty significantly.”

Their youngest, Jared, an eighth-grader, has felt at home at AFS even before he was officially a student. “AFS is like a third parent for us,” says Lori. “I trust AFS implicitly to take care of my kids.”

The Shankens are thankful to be able to provide their children with such a well-rounded education that will serve them well as they move forward in life.

“All three of them are set up for success in wherever their paths take them,” says Lori. “They are prepared because of AFS to go out into the world.”

As the couple looks five years down the road to when they are empty nesters, they are confident that their commitment to AFS will remain steadfast.

“I can’t imagine us not being involved at AFS in some way, whether it be on School Committee or helping the school community to grow through giving,” says Ross. “As much as we care about the experiences of our own kids, we also have a transcendent view and care deeply about all AFS students and know the impact that each of them can have on the community and the world.”

T H E F U N D F O R A F S is a necessary and essential

component of the school’s operating budget. Virtually anything that you see or hear on campus is supported in some way by the Fund for AFS. The Fund for AFS also helps make possible our exceptional tuition assistance program, which makes an AFS education affordable for approximately 60% of our students and families.

Over the course of the 2018-2019 fiscal year, 619 members of the AFS community showed their commitment to keeping our school strong by making a gift to the Fund for AFS.

HEAD OF SCHOOL

JOHN BARNES CIRCLE ($25,000+) Marc and David Berman P’19 P’20 SC Gail Faulkner and John Oyler P’95 P’97 P’98 P’00 Juliet Faulkner Perry ’95 and Grant Perry Jocelyn Faulkner Casey ’97 and James Case Lucinda Faulkner Friedman ’98 and Scott Friedman Harry Faulkner ’00 and Angela Faulkner Mrs. Edward J. Goodman P’99, Hilary Goodman Sperling ’99 and Brian Sperling Susan Salesky Rudin ’57 SC OAK TREE CIRCLE ($10,000 - $24,999) Steven and Ilene Berman P’04 P’06 David and Gwen Campbell P’11 P’14 P’21 SC Robby Cohen and Debby Peikes G’23 G’26 Rodney and Tracey Sandmeyer P’08 P’11 SC Anonymous (2) TYSON HOUSE CIRCLE ($5,000 - $9,999) Marcia Boraas and Eugene Lugano P’10 P’13 Irvin and Marilyn Schorsch P’20 SC Donna Bleznak Keller and Stefan Keller P’23 Stephanie and Rusty Carfagno P’25 E. Kevin and Margaret McGlynn P’09 P’11 Richard Nourie G’10 G’13 and Martha Nourie Anonymous (2) MEETINGHOUSE CIRCLE ($1,698 $4,999) Cindy Balick P’13 P’19 P’19 SC Allison Kanofsky Berg ’89 and Larry Berg Julie and Brad Copeland P’22 P’26 P’28 Karen and S. Edgar David P’19 Maria Kiernan and Salvatore Rotella, Jr. P’20 Peter Kollros and Barbara Konkle P’00 P’03 Robert Krull G’23 G’27 Miriam Lango and David Powlen P’25 Rich and Robin Nourie P’10 P’13 Mira Rabin and Thomas Whitman P’19 Betsy and Jake Roak G’22 G’24 G’27 Jane Rovins and Jonathan Korein P’07 P’15 G’27 Margaret and Steven Sayers P’16 P’18 SC

Mary Strang ’46 Gabrielle Tubach ’57 Jane Frieder Wilf ’84 and Mark Wilf Anonymous 1697 CIRCLE ($1,697) Jonathan Makler ’95 and Elise Makler FRIENDS CIRCLE ($1,000-$1,696) Abington Monthly Meeting Trustees Kenneth and Diane Ahl P’01 P’05 Carol and Bruce Beaton P’10 Jordan and Deanna Berman G’04 G’06 G’08 G’19 G’20 GG’30 Stewart Bramson G’27 Darren Check ’92 and Priya Jairaj Check ’91 Amy and Michael Cohen P’20 Norman and Linda Cohen P’82 and Marsha Cohen ’82 and Peter Lubowitz Stephen Collins P’07 P’10 Tia Duer ’67 and Brian Barger Matthew Eskin and Kristin Romens P’27 P’32 Elizabeth Sears Gadsden ’71 William and Phyllis Gallagher P’98 P’00 P’02 P’05 Edward and Mary Hayes G’19 G’21 Elizabeth and Robert Henske P’06 P’08 Clifford Hudis ’77 and Jane Hudis Sheila Hudson Gabriel and Carolyn Jackson P’27 P’27 Mathai and Mary Kurien P’10 Fiona Kyck and Paul Rossi P’24 P’27 William and Susan Lockwood P’90 P’92 Charles Lockyer Lynne Koolpe Mass, AFSA, and Burton Mass, G’20 Joy Oberman P’21* Judith and Craig Outten P’17 Hetal and Vishal Patel P’30 Conrod Robinson P’12 P’19 Audra and Anthony Romano P’17 P’21 Victoria Decker Rosskam ’71, AFSA Polly Sanford P’06 Devin and Megan Schlickmann Arlen and Marijke Shenkman P’20 P’25 Robert Silverman and Randi Leavitt P’05 Richard Simon ’82 Debbie Stauffer, AFSA, and Carol Palmer, AFSA, P’08

Anne Moch Steinberg and David Steinberg P’17 P’19 Ann Thompson and Patrick Mutchler P’07 P’11 Diane Vernon P’76 SC Christine Washington P’94 G’23

GIFTS OF $999 AND BELOW

Nancy Abel P’77 Thea Abu El-Haj and Steve Rosenzweig P’17 James Achterberg P’81 P’84, AFSA Angelo and Sonia Adams P’09 P’14 Bianca Adams ’14 Gerry and Richard Adelman P’99 Rachel Adler ’14 Sarah Adler ’12 Alicia and Christopher Agoglia P’14 P’16 Jennifer and Kai Aguilar P’21 P’23 Richard Ahl ’05 and Samantha Rothberg Ann Alexander ’62 Marjorie Adams Alexander ’54 Jamie and Jeffrey Alper P’27 Jean Nicholas Alsentzer ’51 P’75 Tahir Andrews ’16 Alexis Apfelbaum ’04 John and Lynn Apfelbaum P’01 P’04 David Arms and Alyssa Davidson Arms P’19 Myron and Caroline Arms P’80 Barbara Berger Aronson ’70 Susan and Paul Arruda G’27 G’29 Susan and Fernando Arteaga P’18 P’21 Benjamin and Jane Ashcom P’84 Mychael Lee Askew ’95 Elaine and Reed Asplundh P’22 Robert and Naomi Atkins P’07 P’12 Jeffrey Attix ’04 Adrienne Avery, AFSA, and William Avery, P’16 P’20 Gretchyn and Troy Bailey P’15 Allison Ballantine and Scott Robinson P’21 P’23 Garland and Donna Barr G’25 Elaine Barrett P’90 Michael and Isobel Barth P’03

SC=School Committee * (Deceased)

Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

48

“We are proud to have at least a small hand in making the world a better place by supporting the young people lucky enough to call AFS home.”

Priya ’91 and Darren ’92 Check

Donna and Pierre Bastien G’28 Jordan Bastien, AFSA, and Pierre Bastien P’28 Amy Brantz Bedrick and Rick Bedrick P’15 Barry Bedrick, AFSA, and Susan Bedrick Jennifer and Joseph Begonia P’28 Svetlana Belotserkovskiy P’22 P’27 Benevity Community Impact Fund Drew and Tiffanie Benfer P’24 Doris Benfer G’24 Scott Berman ’08 Robert Bettiker and Robert Grundmeier P’24 Kristina Denzel Bickford ’93 and Andrew Bickford, P’27 Kenneth Biehn P’83 Janet Binswanger P’08 P’12 P’16 Nina and David Bisbee P’16 Joshua Bobrin ’95 Miriam Bolger P’16 Jeffrey Bond and Courtenay Harris James and Marti Bondelid P’09 Lowell and Richard Booth Karin Borgmann-Winter P’14 Ned and Caren Borowsky P’12 Jayne Borras Ann and Scott Botel-Barnard P’98 P’06 Colleen and Edmund Bowman P’13 Samuel and Gladys Brog P’86 Evan Brooke Marilyn and Webster Brown P’96 Kara Brownlie ’17 Rebecca Ethridge Bubb ’02 and Michael Bubb ’03, P’33 Katie Bucher and Russell McIntire P’30 Mary Buckman ’74 Karen and Boyce Budd G’22 G’24 G’27 Lisa and Michael Budd P’22 P’24 P’27 Jordan and Ginger Burkey Sandra Burney G’21 Jeannetta Burpee ’66 Christopher Buzby, AFSA, and Alison McCormick, AFSA Melissa and James Calder P’32 Jeanne Calloway and Isaac Saposnik P’32

49 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

Loyda Camacho and Jerry Fluellen P’20 SC Renie and David Campbell P’02 P’04 Emily Camp-Landis P’22 Mary Carpenter and James Carpenter P’16 P’18 William Carr ’85 Lynn Carroll and JoAnn Puccella P’24 Marva Carter P’19 Brian Cassady and Erin Bengtson P’33 Robin Casten and Jeffrey Wexler P’21 Michael and Maureen Caulfield P’09 Stephen and Riza Cebula P’24 Steve Chadwin and Sherrea Chadwin, AFSA Felix and Jessica Chen P’30 P’33 Arthur and Marcia Chernoff P’01 Kenniah and Vernon Chestnut P’32 Aleese Chorice P’28 Alice Atkinson Christie ’63 Christopher Churchill P’08 P’15 P’20 Lisa and Artur Cideciyan P’21 Roger Clark G’30 Christine Lapp Clayton ’56 Deborah Co and Walter Weir P’22 Elizabeth Cole ’57 and Richard Cole Kathleen and Vincent Coleman P’25 P’28 P’31 Anne Schreiber Collins ’48 Iris E. Coloma-Gaines and Michael T. Gaines Laura Conkey ’69 Barbara and Greg Copeland G’22 G’26 G’28 Julia and Howard Copeland P’22 Paula Cohen Corbman and Scott Corbman P’03 Holly Corn ’71 and Jonathan Kaufeltf Edith Eberly Corson ’47 and Osmon Corson Shawn Craig-Parker and James Parker P’20 P’23 Elizabeth Lamb Creighton ’60 William and Maria Cromar P’23 P’25 Stacey and Daniel Cunitz P’22 Erin Cytrynbaum Nazie Dana P’11 P’17

Desmond Daniels ’17 Rachel and David Darwin P’31 Alexandra and Nicholas Davatzes P’23 P’27 Joan Ebert Davies ’61 Carolyn Parry Decker ’57 Margaret and Anthony Deguzman P’22 P’23 Howard Delfiner ’85 and Julie Stern-Delfiner Donna Delowery P’03 P’06 Ruth Deming P’91 Lynn Des Prez ’66 and William Shearer Amy Diaz-Newman and Joshua Newman P’30 Kim Dieterichs P’20 P’22 Evelyn Steelman Doane ’52 Jesse Dougherty ’12 Shaun Dougherty ’95 and Lindsey Lockman Dougherty Suzanne and George Downs Bonnie Draper ’67 Marsha and Joseph Dratch P’00 Eileen Terry Dunkleberger ’72 Eileen Dunn and Sean Graber P’26 P’29 Bronwen DuPertuis-Callaghan and Andrew Callaghan P’21 Dennis Durbin P’12 P’17 Susan Roy Dymek ’81 Annette Eddowes-Kiernan and Matthew Kiernan P’21 P’23 Anne Egan G’21 G’25 Janine and Mehdi Ehsani P’19 John Elderfield and Jeanne Collins G’20 Joyce Elderfield G’20 Karolye Eldridge William and Carole Ellerbee P’93 Andrea Emmons and Won Yoon P’24 Debbie and Robert Enck P’24 Mary Eno, AFSA, and Dan Wagner Whitney Estrin ’98 Damian Falana Robert and Doris Fanelli P’04 P’07 Paul and Pnina Feiner G’22 Sharon Feiner P’22 Alicia Fernandez and Elda Perez P’22 P’24 Anne Fields SC=School Committee

Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

Numbers At A Glance

83

# GIFTS $1000+

13%

% GIFTS $1000+

OLDEST ALUM THAT GAVE IS FROM THE CLASS OF

88 % 14 # OF NEW GIFTS

% OF NEW GIFTS

314 50% # INCREASED GIFTS

% INCREASED GIFTS

463

# GIFTS $250 OR LESS

74%

% GIFTS $250 OR LESS

1940 50

Carol Fine ’79 Carla Fisher ’85 Rebecca Fisher ’13 Renee and Lee Fleisher P’14 Joyce Greenawalt Fleming ’60 and David Fleming Nica Waters Fleming and Robert Fleming P’18 P’20 Molly McDonald Foley ’92 and George Foley Frank and Glenna Follmer G’16 Phyllis Ford P’97 P’01 Susan Fox ’64 Stephen and Barbara Foxman P’07 Patricia Frankel G’24 Laurie Toll Franz ’88 Catherine and CT French Jennifer French ’69 P’09 Karl Frey G’23 Carol Frieder, AFSA, and Samuel Frieder, P’76 P’80 P’82 P’85 Sindy Paul Friedman ’75 and Oren Paul Dianne Furphy and Brian Fitzhenry P’26 Judith Chestnut Fuss ’63 Peter Gaines, AFSA Beverly Gandolfo Donna Garner G’20 Jordan Gatenby ’99, AFSA, and Sarah Gatenby, AFSA Abby Gatenby, AFSA, and Robert Gatenby, P’99 P’04 Sara Geelan P’20 Vanessa and Shandon Gelbaugh P’27 P’30 Dominique Gerard and Brian Knowles Tirthankar and Sreemati Ghosh P’12 Emma Giddings ’17 Gabrielle Giddings, AFSA, and Glenn Giddings P’17 Sarah Giddings G’17 Sigrid Wasum Gilbert ’57 and John Russell Marla Gold and Debra Brady P’22 Amy Gordon Aviva Gordon ’19 Gwenn Pavlovitz Graboyes ’72 and Joseph Graboyes Jennifer Graham and Maurice Reid P’27 Jodi and Scott Gratson P’19 P’23 Barry and Jeanette Green P’92 Beverly and Stephen Green, P’85 P’88 Daniel and Jill Green P’10 Robin Green P’06 Susan Greene ’80 James and Carol Gross P’05 P’08 Philip Vinogradov, AFSA, and Diana Gru, P’21 Margaret Guerra and Frank Fisher ’79, AFSA, P’19 Brenda Hamilton P’96 G’27 G’31 Dagmar Strandberg Hamilton ’49

51 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

Jennifer Bornholdt Hammond ’86, AFSA, and Craig Hammond Karen J. Hanson ’72 and McWelling Todman, P’10 Cathy High Harris ’64 Joan Harris P’14 Barbara Hutchinson Hartman ’63 Victoria Hartung ’58 Jeanette and Delbert Hausman P’16 Matthias Hausman ’16 Pamela Heacock ’78 Robert Healy P’25 P’31 Suzanne Healy P’25 P’31 Michael Hecht ’89 and Jennifer Hecht Corey Heller ’00 and Rachel Heller Carl Hemenway P’04 SC Carol and Bruce Henderson Charity Hendrickson and Kristopher Tapp P’22 Melissa Henry P’27 Suzanne Alston Hodges ’85 and Keith Hodges, P’18 P’20 Nancy Abel Hoffenberg ’65 Megan Bellwoar Hollinger and Michael Hollinger P’15 P’23 Tonya Holloman P’19 Rosalyn Holly-Price G’22 Jane Stone Horn ’47 and Irving Horn Anthony Houston ’90 Benjamin and Karen Hoyle P’00 P’03 P’07 Xiaofang Huang and Yong Chen P’19 Virginia Keim Hudnut ’50 Bonita Huggins Christine Hunter and Lawrence Mass P’20 Jean O’Neill Huntington ’44 Barbara Breinig Hyde ’68 Jennifer Isaacs and Matthew Perkins P’20 Michele and Steven Jamison P’19 Maija Jansson ’56 Robert Jeter P’17 P’19 P’25 Mary Jimenez P’09 P’11 Susan King Jones ’67 Christine Jones-Walsh and Terrence Walsh P’29 David Jordan G’18 Raquel and Timothy Joyce P’22 Marney Jurist-Rosner ’94 Joel Kahn ’77 Mark Kahn ’75, and Lauren Kahn, P’14 P’17 Tamar Kamionkowski P’19 Justin Kaplan and Diana Brody P’05 P’08 Stephanie Hindin Katz ’70 and Stan Katz Norma Alesbury Kelley ’48 Elizabeth Kelly P’84, AFSA Hossein Kholghi and Victoria Mikus Susan and Joseph Kiefner John and Jean Kiernan G’20 Kimberly and Daniel Kilpatrick P’22 Sheila Kilpatrick G’22

Gerald and Kathryn Klein G’18 Nancy Goldman Koenigsberg ’45 Karel Kovnat and Lee Adler P’12 P’14 Wayne Kurtz and Lisa Treadway-Kurtz P’14 P’18 P’22 Jill and George Kyle Sandra Laiss-Sarkisian and Aram Sarkisian P’30 Tanya and Brian Lancaster P’31 Kristen Latteri Carolyn Lindig Laumer ’59 Lisa Laura and Douglas Pearce P’21 Miriam Laver ’83 and Andrew Freedman Racquel LeDuc ’98 and Angel Ortiz David Leeser ’88 and Jodi Leeser Nina Letherer P’20 Hongbo Li and Wenman Wu P’22 Bonnie Libby P’16 Roseanne Liberti P’15 P’16 Lewis and Rosemary Lloyd G’17 G’21 William Lockwood III ’92 David Loder Stefanie and Scott Loev P’24 Charles and Clarabon Logan P’87 Christopher Logan ’76 and Heidi Logan Leslie and Kyle Logan P’29 Richard and Molly Logan P’76 Harry and Phyllis Longenbach G’08 G’15 Quinn Longenberger and Julia Seto P’19 Jeffers Loperby Kathryn Lopez Caron Olivieri Lukens ’78 Lintao Ma ’16 Andrea and Thomas Macey P’17 Amanda Macomber Betsy Madway and Steven Goldstein P’23 P’27 Todd and Susan Makler P’92 P’95 Raji and Thalia Malik P’16 P’24 P’28 Lucy Malone Katherine and William Mangum P’33 Ann and Mark Manta P’09 P’10 P’13 Vincent Manta ’13 Courtney Marsallo Anne and Phillip Martin P’27 Nicole Martin and Milton Velazquez P’26 Virginia R. Martin and Robert Comis P’98 Susan Peterson Maxfield ’62 and William Maxfield Cris Maxwell P’07 Elizabeth Mayers ’63 Cynthia and Thomas McCloskey G’32 Claire McCusker and Jonathan Levy P’19 Simon McEntire ’02 Erin McGinley and Nang Tran P’20 Carolyn Anderson McGuckin ’53 Keith McKnight ’04 John and Margaret McMenamin P’11 Marianne Wehner Mebane ’48

SC=School Committee Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

“When I went to college and graduate school, I could think and write critically in a clear and concise manner,” says Shalimar Reddy ’98. The same was true of [daughter] Taylor ’18, who was asked by a professor to become a TA and mentor her peers in writing.”

Shalimar Reddy ’98 P ’18, alumni parent and alumna

52

Devan and Andrea Mehrotra P’17 P’20 Colleen and Mark Mele P’19 P’21 P’23 Audrey Mento Charles Meyer ’77 Jacqueline Miles-Sousa P’19 P’22 Alison Richards Miller ’98 and Joseph Miller Marty Miller G’26 G’29 Tracy Mills and Roderick Julye P’22 Amanda Milz Rosanne Mistretta and Steven Miano P’09 P’12 Laura and Matthew Mitchell P’19 Robin and Aaron Mixon P’22 Carol Moore Elizabeth Mosley, AFSA Kristan and Robert Moyer P’26 Lori Moyer Sandra Scott Mraz and Dave Mraz P’09 Srimati Mukherjee P’14 Aishe Muslyumova and Marlen Ziyadinov P’22 Joshua Myers ’11 Russell Nadel ’01 and Tara Nadel Neha and Ritesh Nautiyal P’33 Erica Nelson and Andrew Myers P’17 P’20 Katherine Nesbitt Thomas and Harriet Nesbitt Barbara and Ken Neuberger G’19 G’22 Katherine and Nicholas Newell P’31 Lindsay and Paul Newlon P’27 P’31 Suellen Fisher Newman ’58 Sarah Nourie ’13 and Daniel Maraist Richard and Maureen Nunn P’05 Janet Oberg, AFSA, and Robert Oberg P’90 Dana O’Brien ’70 and John O’Shea Anne Peterson Ogan ’65 and Nick Ogan Faye Olivieri P’78 Viktoriya Osipova and Igor Nikulin P’19 Radha Pai G’30 Deborra Sines Pancoe, AFSA and Craig Pancoe, AFSA Bernard and Mary Grace Panzak P’17 Susan and David Pardys P’14 P’17 Grace Parsons P’83 Amy Wynn Pastor ’94 Kenneth Patrick P’03 P’06 Tonia Patterson P’28 Debra Pawluch ’78 Emmett and Catherine Peabody P’12 Donald Perelman and Elise Singer P’06 Kathryn and Hector Perez P’19 P’21 Rhashidah Perry-Jones and Raymond Jones P’23 Nina and Josh Peskin P’29 Karen and Robert Peterman Charles and Ruth Peterson Philadelphia Area Orff-Schulwerk Association Jane Piecuch and David Fine P’20 Ralph and Cheryl Pinkus P’92

53 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

Jason Pizzi ’93 Louis Platt ’17 Jeffrey and Ellen Plaut P’23 Taylor Plenty ’18 Lynda Jeffrey Plott ’64 and Curtis Plott Michelle and Thomas Podulka P’18 P’25 Cora Pokrifka ’15 Lynn and Joseph Pokrifka P’15 P’17 P’20 Christine and Robert Pugh P’22 P. Terrence Quinn Lori and Edward Raso P’19 Jane Rech ’81 Rusty Regalbuto P’02 P’11 Ann Fleming Reid ’68 Lindsay and Ross Reinhold P’26 Diedre A. Reynolds and Lee M. Pachter P’24 P’27 Jane Foster Rhein ’40 Steven and Marcella Ridenour P’99 G’32 Maria and Eric Rieders P’11 P’14 Clark Riley Cristy Reeves Robertson ’66 David Robinson ’03 Mary Kay Rohlfing-Napoli and Rob Napoli P’20 Alessandra Romero Kim and Simon Rosen P’12 P’14 Elisa and John Rosenwinkel P’19 Salvatore and Pilar Rotella G’20 Benjamin and Rebecca Roter P’10 Erik Rothbard ’95 and Amanda Rothbard Lauren Rothkopf and Daniel Rubin P’28 Darcy Clark Rowell ’67 and John Rowell Aaron Rubin ’85 and Susan Becker Donna Russo P’05 Glen Sacks and William Valerio P’14 Andrew Sage ’17 Mindy and Stephen Sage P’17 Joseph and Lore Salata P’05 Ryan Samson ’07 Daniel Samuels ’06 and Hannah Friedland James Samuels P’22 Joelle and Brian Sandre P’20 Kenan Sayers ’18 Sandy Sborofsky and David Calloway G’32 Steven Scharf ’79 and Renae Scharf Christine Ward Schmidt ’67, AFSA Seth Schmitt-Hall Jane Jordan Schmitz ’55 Adam Schorsch ’03 and Melissa Schorsch ’03 SC Randy J. Schwartz, AFSA, and Jay Finestone Gail Rosenau Scott ’64 and Thomas Quinlan, P’85 P’87 Patricia Scott ’76 David and Barbara Seidenberg P’10 Angela and Mujahid Shakur P’23 P’26 Robin Shane and Jonathan Shandell P’22 P’25 Jill and Tom Sharp

Ora Sheares G’05 G’08 G’10 Christina and Matthew Shellenberger P’29 P’32 Lauren and Michael Shepard P’15 Fran and Hal Sheppard P’16 Marisa and David Shuter P’19 Burton Siegel P’99 Elizabeth and John Silbaugh P’16 P’19 Dveral and Alan Silberstien G’19 Cindy Silverman, AFSA and Jerry Silverman, P’01 P’05 Jacqueline and Jay Silverman P’19 Robert and Beverly Sitrin P’02 Matthew and Antoinette Slagter P’17 Alan and Ruth Smith P’77 P’80 P’83 P’84 G’12 G’15 Arlis Smith P’22 Cyd and Stanley Smith P’13 P’17 P’18 Erik Smith P’20 Jane Smith ’80 and Jeffrey Ginsberg, P’12 P’14 Joan Smith G’28 Mark and Sarah Smith P’33 Wendy Smith and Michael Posner P’25 P’30 Deirdre Rhoads Snyder ’62 and W. Lloyd Snyder Justin Solonynka and Courtney Gable, P’29 Richard and Elizabeth Soltan P’08 P’10 Amy, AFSA and Michael Solwecki Tom and Carolyn Spencer Michael and Chelsea Sperger P’15 P’18 P’21 Brian Spiewak ’03 Doris Spike, AFSA Justine Stehle and R. Tyson Smith P’24 Debra and Stuart Steinberg P’18 William Steinberg ’19 Dick and Lois Stern Arlene Stone Valerie and Jeffrey Stone P’20 Elyse Adler Stoner ’84 and Edward Stoner Carolyn Blount Street ’44 Marianna and Michael Sullivan P’94 P’98 G’27 G’30 Lil Swanson, AFSA, and Dave Warner Sarah Sweeney-Denham SC Jade Swisher ’16 Daniel and Rebekah Taboada P’30 Susan Gerlitz Tam ’64 and Phillip Tam Athena Tansimore and Gerald Andrews P’16 Robert Taylor The Pew Charitable Trusts Deloris and Raymond Thomas P’18 Yvonne Thomas-Curry and Kenneth Curry P’22 Anne B. Thompson ’57 Madison Tillmann ’18 Erin and John Timmer P’27 P’29 Eugenia Timmer G’27 G’29 Nicole Toizer ’89 Elizabeth Townsend, AFSA, P’03 P’08 SC=School Committee

Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

Jonathan Treadwell P’19 P’22 Triskeles Foundation Lobsang Tsomo and Lobsang Thupten P’24 Alice Turman April Tvarok, AFSA Madeline Twomey Troy Unverdruss ’00 Joanna and Nicholas Upmeyer P’33 Carina and David Urbach P’19 P’22 Toni Vahlsing and Antony Dugdale P’18 P’20 Rebecca Van Buren ’68 Ginger Gable Vitty ’53 Gary Waldman ’87 and Sloane Waldman, P’18 P’22 Maggie Waldman ’22 Sophie Waldman ’18 Dean and Audrey Wallace P’01 P’05 Zheng Wang ’19 Malikha Washington and Gregg Moritz P’23 P’24 Douglas Watford ’17 Megan Watson ’11 William Weary, AFSA Colin Webb ’95 and Laura Webb Julie Ufberg Webb ’98, AFSA Claire Rosenthal Weiner ’50 and Norman Weiner, G’15 G’17 G’20 Linda Hano Weintraub ’55 Wells Fargo Foundation Educational Matching Gifts Program Richard Wertime P’97 P’02 Cecelia Whitby G’20 G’22 Althea White, AFSA Brent Whitman ’80 and Doug Jensen Susan Barnes Whyte ’71 Jessica Williams ’14 Samantha Williams ’10 Suzanne and Robert Williams P’10 P’14 Lynn Willson, AFSA Byron and Cynthia Wilson P’05 P’08 P’10 Charles and Mariann Wilson Carol Wolf and Ana Maria Garcia P’21 Eric Wolf ’97 James Wolf ’09 Susannah Wolf and Douglas Gauck P’21 P’23 Wesley Wolf and Catherine Hunt P’09 David and Susan Wolk P’07 Michael Wolk ’07 Janet and William Woods P’14 Crystal Wright P’17 Wendy Wyatt Loos ’60 Rachel Yakobashvili ’16 Mikael Yisrael Rossana and Rich Zapf P’22 Laura Zingle ’99, AFSA Robert and Marion Zingle P’99 Karen Zinn and Doug Brownlie P’17 Patricia Rosenau Ziplow ’78, AFSA

Marylee Rabe Zubaly ’53 Christine and Stanley Zucker P’19 Marianne Zurn ’66 Anonymous (12)

ALUMNI

Rachel Adler ’14 Sarah Adler ’12 Richard Ahl ’05 and Samantha Rothberg Ann Alexander ’62 Marjorie Adams Alexander ’54 Zachary Alper ’90 Jean Nicholas Alsentzer ’51 P’75 Tahir Andrews ’16 Alexis Apfelbaum ’04 Barbara Berger Aronson ’70 Mychael Lee Askew ’95 Jeffrey Attix ’04 Matthew Balick ’13 and Nicole Goroshovsky ’13 Allison Kanofsky Berg ’89 and Larry Berg Scott Berman ’08 Nancy Zurn Bernardini ’74 and Steven Bernardini Kristina Denzel Bickford ’93 and Andrew Bickford, P’27 Joshua Bobrin ’95 Kara Brownlie ’17 Rebecca Ethridge Bubb ’02 and Michael Bubb ’03, P’33 Mary Buckman ’74 Jeannetta Burpee ’66 Jillian Stauffer Butters ’08 and Alejandro Butters William Carr ’85 Jocelyn Faulkner Casey ’97 and James Casey Darren Check ’92 and Priya Jairaj Check ’91 Alice Atkinson Christie ’63 Sarah Churchill ’08 Christine Lapp Clayton ’56 Marsha Cohen ’82 and Peter Lubowitz Elizabeth Cole ’57 and Richard Cole Anne Schreiber Collins ’48 Laura Conkey ’69 Holly Corn ’71 and Jonathan Kaufeltf

Edith Eberly Corson ’47 and Osmon Corson Elizabeth Lamb Creighton ’60 Christopher D’Angelo ’98 and Katie D’Angelo Desmond Daniels ’17 Joan Ebert Davies ’61 Carolyn Parry Decker ’57 Howard Delfiner ’85 and Julie Stern-Delfiner Lynn Des Prez ’66 and William Shearer Evelyn Steelman Doane ’52 Jesse Dougherty ’12 Shaun Dougherty ’95 and Lindsey Lockman Dougherty Bonnie Draper ’67 Tia Duer ’67 and Brian Barger Eileen Terry Dunkleberger ’72 Susan Roy Dymek ’81 Scott Erman ’86 and Nancy Erman Jane Esslinger ’07 Whitney Estrin ’98 Harry Faulkner ’00 and Angela Faulkner Carol Fine ’79 Carla Fisher ’85 Rebecca Fisher ’13 Joyce Greenawalt Fleming ’60 and David Fleming Molly McDonald Foley ’92 and George Foley Susan Fox ’64 Laurie Toll Franz ’88 Jennifer French ’69 P’09 Lucinda Faulkner Friedman ’98 and Scott Friedman Sindy Paul Friedman ’75 and Oren Paul Judith Chestnut Fuss ’63 Elizabeth Sears Gadsden ’71 Heidi Miller Garnick ’82 and Robert Garnick Lindsey Garrison ’07 Jordan Gatenby ’99, AFSA, and Sarah Gatenby, AFSA Arlene Wattis Gates ’59 Emma Giddings ’17 Sigrid Wasum Gilbert ’57 and John Russell Lauren Goldenberg ’80 and Leo Levin

SC=School Committee Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

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Gwenn Pavlovitz Graboyes ’72 and Joseph Graboyes Susan Greene ’80 Ann Packer Guillot ’66 Michael Haberman ’97 and Michele Haberman Dagmar Strandberg Hamilton ’49 Karen J. Hanson ’72 and McWelling Todman, P’10 Cathy High Harris ’64 Barbara Hutchinson Hartman ’63 Victoria Hartung ’58 Matthias Hausman ’16 Pamela Heacock ’78 Michael Hecht ’89 and Jennifer Hecht Corey Heller ’00 and Rachel Heller Suzanne Alston Hodges ’85 and Keith Hodges P’18 P’20 Nancy Abel Hoffenberg ’65 Jane Stone Horn ’47 and Irving Horn Clifford Hudis ’77 and Jane Hudis Virginia Keim Hudnut ’50 Jean O’Neill Huntington ’44 Barbara Breinig Hyde ’68 Maija Jansson ’56 Susan King Jones ’67 Marney Jurist-Rosner ’94 Joel Kahn ’77 Mark Kahn ’75, and Lauren Kahn P’14 P’17 Jill Paul Kaplan ’98 Stephanie Hindin Katz ’70 and Stan Katz Norma Alesbury Kelley ’48 Nancy Goldman Koenigsberg ’45 Carolyn Lindig Laumer ’59 Miriam Laver ’83 and Andrew Freedman Racquel LeDuc ’98 and Angel Ortiz Christopher Logan ’76 and Heidi Logan Laura Lundy ’84 Lintao Ma ’16 Jonathan Makler ’95 and Elise Makler Vincent Manta ’13 Elizabeth Mayers ’63 Simon McEntire ’02 John McGlynn ’09 Kelly McGlynn ’11 Carolyn Anderson McGuckin ’53 Keith McKnight ’04

55 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

Marianne Wehner Mebane ’48 Charles Meyer ’77 Alison Richards Miller ’98 and Joseph Miller Russell Nadel ’01 and Tara Nadel Suellen Fisher Newman ’58 Kimberly Nitzky ’93 Sarah Nourie ’13 and Daniel Maraist Dana O’Brien ’70 and John O’Shea Anne Peterson Ogan ’65 and Nick Ogan Amy Wynn Pastor ’94 Debra Pawluch ’78 Juliet Faulkner Perry ’95 and Grant Perry Jason Pizzi ’93 Louis Platt ’17 Taylor Plenty ’18 Lynda Jeffrey Plott ’64 and Curtis Plott Cora Pokrifka ’15 Jane Rech ’81 Shalimar Reddy ’98 and Carl Ridenhour, P’18 Ann Fleming Reid ’68 Jane Foster Rhein ’40 Cristy Reeves Robertson ’66 David Robinson ’03 Noah Rosenfeld ’17 Victoria Decker Rosskam ’71, AFSA Erik Rothbard ’95 and Amanda Rothbard Darcy Clark Rowell ’67 and John Rowell Aaron Rubin ’85 and Susan Becker Susan Salesky Rudin ’57 SC Andrew Sage ’17 Daniel Samuels ’06 and Hannah Friedland Kenan Sayers ’18 Steven Scharf ’79 and Renae Scharf Christine Ward Schmidt ’67, AFSA Adam Schorsch ’03 and Melissa Schorsch ’03 SC Gail Rosenau Scott ’64 and Thomas Quinlan P’85 P’87 Patricia Scott ’76 Matthew Silverstein ’96 Jane Smith ’80 and Jeffrey Ginsberg P’12 P’14 Deirdre Rhoads Snyder ’62 and W. Lloyd Snyder

Hilary Goodman Sperling ’99 and Brian Sperling Brian Spiewak ’03 Christopher Stetser ’75 Elyse Adler Stoner ’84 and Edward Stoner Mary Strang ’46 Carolyn Blount Street ’44 Jade Swisher ’16 Susan Gerlitz Tam ’64 and Phillip Tam Anne B. Thompson ’57 Madison Tillmann ’18 Nicole Toizer ’89 Gabrielle Tubach ’57 Troy Unverdruss ’00 Rebecca Van Buren ’68 Ginger Gable Vitty ’53 Gary Waldman ’87 and Sloane Waldman P’18 P’22 Sophie Waldman ’18 Megan Watson ’11 Colin Webb ’95 and Laura Webb Julie Ufberg Webb ’98, AFSA Mrs. Claire Rosenthal Weiner ’50 and Mr. Norman Weiner G’15 G’17 G’20 Linda Hano Weintraub ’55 Brent Whitman ’80 and Doug Jensen Susan Barnes Whyte ’71 Jane Frieder Wilf ’84 and Mark Wilf Jessica Williams ’14 Samantha Williams ’10 Eric Wolf ’97 James Wolf ’09 Michael Wolk ’07 Wendy Wyatt Loos ’60 Rachel Yakobashvili ’16 Laura Zingle ’99, AFSA Patricia Rosenau Ziplow ’78, AFSA Marylee Rabe Zubaly ’53 Marianne Zurn ’66 Anonymous (5)

CURRENT PARENTS

Jennifer and Kai Aguilar P’21 P’23 Jamie and Jeffrey Alper P’27 David Arms and Alyssa Davidson Arms P’19 Susan and Fernando Arteaga P’18 P’21 Elaine and Reed Asplundh P’22 Adrienne Avery, AFSA, and William Avery, P’16 P’20 Allison Ballantine and Scott Robinson P’21 P’23 Jordan Bastien, AFSA and Pierre Bastien P’28 Jennifer and Joseph Begonia P’28 Svetlana Belotserkovskiy P’22 P’27 Drew and Tiffanie Benfer P’24 Marc and David Berman P’19 P’20 SC Robert Bettiker and Robert Grundmeier P’24 SC=School Committee

Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

Kristina Denzel Bickford ’93 and Andrew Bickford P’27 Donna Bleznak Keller and Stefan Keller P’23 Rebecca Ethridge Bubb ’02 and Michael Bubb ’03, P’33 SC Katie Bucher and Russell McIntire P’30 Lisa and Michael Budd P’22 P’24 P’27 Jenny Burkholder and John Flak P’24 P’26 Melissa and James Calder P’32 Jeanne Calloway and Isaac Saposnik P’32 Loyda Camacho and Jerry Fluellen P’20 SC David and Gwen Campbell P’11 P’14 P’21 SC Emily Camp-Landis P’22 Stephanie and Rusty Carfagno P’25 Lynn Carroll and JoAnn Puccella P’24 Marva Carter P’19 Brian Cassady and Erin Bengtson P’33 Robin Casten and Jeffrey Wexler P’21 Stephen and Riza Cebula P’24 Felix and Jessica Chen P’30 P’33 Kenniah and Vernon Chestnut P’32 Aleese Chorice P’28 Lisa and Artur Cideciyan P’21 Deborah Co and Walter Weir P’22 Amy and Michael Cohen P’20 Julia and Howard Copeland P’22 Julie and Brad Copeland P’22 P’26 P’28 Shawn Craig-Parker and James Parker P’20 P’23 William and Maria Cromar P’23 P’25 Stacey and Daniel Cunitz P’22 Rachel and David Darwin P’31 Alexandra and Nicholas Davatzes P’23 P’27 Karen and S. Edgar David P’19 Margaret and Anthony Deguzman P’22 P’23 Amy Diaz-Newman and Joshua Newman P’30 Kim Dieterichs P’20 P’22 Eileen Dunn and Sean Graber P’26 P’29 Bronwen DuPertuis-Callaghan and Andrew Callaghan P’21 Annette Eddowes-Kiernan and Matthew Kiernan P’21 P’23 Janine and Mehdi Ehsani P’19 Andrea Emmons and Won Yoon P’24 Debbie and Robert Enck P’24 Matthew Eskin and Kristin Romens P’27 P’32 Sharon Feiner P’22 Alicia Fernandez and Elda Perez P’22 P’24 Nica Waters Fleming and Robert Fleming P’18 P’20 Dianne Furphy and Brian Fitzhenry P’26 Sara Geelan P’20 Vanessa and Shandon Gelbaugh P’27 P’30 Marla Gold and Debra Brady P’22 Jennifer Graham and Maurice Reid P’27 Jodi and Scott Gratson P’19 P’23 Philip Vinogradov, AFSA, and Diana Gru, P’21

Margaret Guerra and Frank Fisher ’79, AFSA, P’19 Robert Healy P’25 P’31 Suzanne Healy P’25 P’31 Charity Hendrickson and Kristopher Tapp P’22 Melissa Henry P’27 Suzanne Alston Hodges ’85 and Keith Hodges, P’18 P’20 Megan Bellwoar Hollinger and Michael Hollinger P’15 P’23 Tonya Holloman P’19 Rosalyn Holly-Price G’22 Xiaofang Huang and Yong Chen P’19 Christine Hunter and Lawrence Mass P’20 Jennifer Isaacs and Matthew Perkins P’20 Gabriel and Carolyn Jackson P’27 Michele and Steven Jamison P’19 Robert Jeter P’17 P’19 P’25 Christine Jones-Walsh and Terrence Walsh P’29 Raquel and Timothy Joyce P’22 Tamar Kamionkowski P’19 Maria Kiernan and Salvatore Rotella, Jr. P’20 Kimberly and Daniel Kilpatrick P’22 Wayne Kurtz and Lisa Treadway-Kurtz P’14 P’18 P’22 Fiona Kyck and Paul Rossi P’24 P’27 Sandra Laiss-Sarkisian and Aram Sarkisian P’30 Tanya and Brian Lancaster P’31 Miriam Lango and David Powlen P’25 Lisa Laura and Douglas Pearce P’21 Nina Letherer P’20 Hongbo Li and Wenman Wu P’22 Stefanie and Scott Loev P’24 Leslie and Kyle Logan P’29 Quinn Longenberger and Julia Seto P’19 Betsy Madway and Steven Goldstein P’23 P’27 Raji and Thalia Malik P’16 P’24 P’28 Katherine and William Mangum P’33 Anne and Phillip Martin P’27 Nicole Martin and Milton Velazquez P’26 Claire McCusker and Jonathan Levy P’19 Erin McGinley and Nang Tran P’20 Devan and Andrea Mehrotra P’17 P’20 Colleen and Mark Mele P’19 P’21 P’23 Jacqueline Miles-Sousa P’19 P’22 Tracy Mills and Roderick Julye P’22 Laura and Matthew Mitchell P’19 Robin and Aaron Mixon P’22 Kristan and Robert Moyer P’26 Aishe Muslyumova and Marlen Ziyadinov P’22 Neha Nautiyal and Ritesh Nautiyal P’33 Erica Nelson and Andrew Myers P’17 P’20 Shira Neuberger and Kelly Durand P’19 P’22 Katherine and Nicholas Newell P’31

Lindsay and Paul Newlon P’27 P’31 Richard and Robin Nourie P’10 P’13 Viktoriya Osipova and Igor Nikulin P’19 Hetal and Vishal Patel P’30 Tonia Patterson P’28 Kathryn and Hector Perez P’19 P’21 Rhashidah Perry-Jones and Raymond Jones P’23 Nina and Josh Peskin P’29 Jane Piecuch and David Fine P’20 Jeffrey and Ellen Plaut P’23 Michelle and Thomas Podulka P’18 P’25 Lynn and Joseph Pokrifka P’15 P’17 P’20 Christine and Robert Pugh P’22 Mira Rabin and Thomas Whitman P’19 Edward and Lori Raso P’19 Lindsay and Ross Reinhold P’25 P’26 Diedre A. Reynolds and Lee M. Pachter P’24 P’27 Mary Kay Rohlfing-Napoli and Rob Napoli P’20 Audra and Anthony Romano P’17 P’21 Elisa and John Rosenwinkel P’19 Lauren Rothkopf and Daniel Rubin P’28 James Samuels P’22 Joelle and Brian Sandre P’20 Irvin and Marilyn Schorsch P’20 SC Angela and Mujahid Shakur P’23 P’26 Robin Shane and Jonathan Shandell P’22 P’25 Ross and Lori Shanken P’17 P’20 P’24 SC Christina and Matthew Shellenberger P’29 P’32 Arlen and Marijke Shenkman P’20 P’25 Marisa and David Shuter P’19 Jacqueline and Jay Silverman P’19 Arlis Smith P’22 Erik Smith P’20 Mark and Sarah Smith P’32 P’33 Wendy Smith and Michael Posner P’25 P’30 Justin Solonynka and Courtney Gable, P’29 Michael and Chelsea Sperger P’15 P’18 P’21 SC Justine Stehle and R. Tyson Smith P’24 Valerie and Jeffrey Stone P’20 Daniel and Rebekah Taboada P’30 Yvonne Thomas-Curry and Kenneth Curry P’22 Erin and John Timmer P’27 P’29 Jonathan Treadwell P’19 P’22 Lobsang Tsomo and Lobsang Thupten P’24 Joanna and Nicholas Upmeyer P’32 Toni Vahlsing and Antony Dugdale P’18 P’20 Gary Waldman ’87 and Sloane Waldman P’18 P’22 Malikha Washington and Gregg Moritz P’23 P’24 Carol Wolf and Ana Maria Garcia P’21 Susannah Wolf and Douglas Gauck P’21 P’23 SC=School Committee

Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

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57 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

Rossana and Rich Zapf P’22 Christine and Stanley Zucker P’19 Anonymous (7)

FACULTY AND STAFF

Susan Aeteaga P’18 P’21 Drew Benfer P’24 Erin Bengtson and Brian Cassady P’32 Kristina Denzel Bickford ’93 and Andrew Bickford, P’27 Jeffrey Bond Jayne Borras Ann Botel-Barnard P’98 P’06 Evan Brooke Lisa Budd P’22 P’24 P’27 Jordan Burkey Jenny Burkholder P’24 P’27 Melissa Calder P’32 Jeanne Calloway P’32 Renie Campbell P’02 P’04 Mary Carpenter P’16 P’18 Steve Chadwin Felix Chen P’30 P’33 Kathleen Coleman P’25 P’28 P’31 Paula Cohen Corbman P’03 Sylvia Devietti Amy Diaz-Newman P’30 Karolye Eldridge Mary Lynn Ellis P’01 P’03 Andrea Emmons P’24 Matthew Eskin P’27 P’32 Alicia Fernandez P’22 P’24 Anne Fields Beverly Gandolfo Dominique Gerard Amy Gordon Diana Gru P’21 Margaret Guerra P’19 Charity Hendrickson P’22 Suzanne Alston Hodges ’85, P’18 P’20 Megan Bellwoar Hollinger P’15 P’23 Anthony Houston ’90 Bonita Huggins Chris Hunter P’20 Mary Jimenez P’09 P’11 Laine Kaplan Hoss Kholghi Roseanne Liberti P’15 P’16 Kathy Lopez Raji Malik P’16 P’24 P’28 Courtney Marsallo Cris Maxwell P’07 Amanda Milz Rosanne Mistretta P’09 P’12 Kristan Moyer P’26 Sandra Scott Mraz P’09 Neha Nautiyal P’33 Lindsay Newlon P’27 P’31 Rich Nourie P’10 P’13 Michelle Podulka P’18 P’25

Rusty Regalbuto P’02 P’11 Donna Russo P’05 Polly Sanford P’06 Martha Scache Devin Schlickmann Seth Schmitt-Hall Matthew Slagter P’17 Mark Smith P’32 P’33 Justin Solonynka P’29 Amy Solwecki Daniel Taboada P’30 Erin Timmer P’27 P’29 Lisa J. Treadway-Kurtz and Wayne Kurtz P’14 P’18 P’22 Joanna Upmeyer P’32 Toni Vahlsing P’18 P’20 Sloane Waldman, P’18 P’22 Lynn Willson Carol Wolf P’21 Mikael Yisrael Anonymous (1)

ALUMNI FAMILIES/AFSA

Nancy Abel P’77 Thea Abu El-Haj and Steve Rosenzweig P’17 James Achterberg P’81 P’84, AFSA Angelo and Sonia Adams P’09 P’14 Gerry and Richard Adelman P’99 Alicia and Christopher Agoglia P’14 P’16 Kenneth and Diane Ahl P’01 P’05 Jean Nicholas Alsentzer ’51 P’75 John and Lynn Apfelbaum P’01 P’04 Myron and Caroline Arms P’80 Benjamin and Jane Ashcom P’84 Robert and Naomi Atkins P’07 P’12 Adrienne Avery, AFSA, and William Avery, P’16 P’20 Gretchyn and Troy Bailey P’15 Cindy Balick P’13 P’19 P’19 Elaine Barrett P’90 Michael and Isobel Barth P’03 Jordan Bastien, AFSA and Pierre Bastien P’28 Carol and Bruce Beaton P’10 Amy Brantz Bedrick and Rick Bedrick P’15 SC Barry Bedrick, AFSA and Susan Bedrick Steven and Ilene Berman P’04 P’06 Kenneth Biehn P’83 Janet Binswanger P’08 P’12 P’16 Nina and David Bisbee P’16 Miriam Bolger P’16 James and Marti Bondelid P’09 Marcia Boraas and Eugene Lugano P’10 P’13 Karin Borgmann-Winter P’14 Ned and Caren Borowsky P’12 Ann and Scott Botel-Barnard P’98 P’06 Colleen and Edmund Bowman P’13

Samuel and Gladys Brog P’86 Marilyn and Webster Brown P’96 Christopher Buzby, AFSA and Alison McCormick, AFSA David and Gwen Campbell P’11 P’14 P’21 Renie and David Campbell P’02 P’04 Michael and Maureen Caulfield P’09 Arthur and Marcia Chernoff P’01 Christopher Churchill P’08 P’15 P’20 Norman and Linda Cohen P’82 Stephen Collins P’07 P’10 Paula Cohen Corbman and Scott Corbman P’03 Nazie Dana P’11 P’17 Ruth Deming P’91 Marsha and Joseph Dratch P’00 Dennis Durbin P’12 P’17 William and Carole Ellerbee P’93 Mary Lynn and Paul Ellis P’01 P’03 Robert and Doris Fanelli P’04 P’07 Frank Fisher ’79, AFSA, and Margaret Guerra, P’19 Renee and Lee Fleisher P’14 Phyllis Ford P’97 P’01 Stephen and Barbara Foxman P’07 Jennifer French ’69 P’09 Carol Frieder, AFSA, and Samuel Frieder, P’76 P’80 P’82 P’85 Peter Gaines, AFSA William and Phyllis Gallagher P’98 P’00 P’02 P’05 Abby Gatenby, AFSA, and Robert Gatenby, P’99 P’04 Jordan Gatenby ’99, AFSA, and Sarah Gatenby, AFSA Tirthankar and Sreemati Ghosh P’12 Gabrielle Giddings, AFSA and Glenn Giddings P’17, AFSA Mrs. Edward J. Goodman P’99 Barry and Jeanette Green P’92 Beverly Green, AFSA, and Stephen Green, P’85 P’88 Daniel and Jill Green P’10 Robin Green P’06 James and Carol Gross P’05 P’08 Brenda Hamilton P’96 G’27 G’31 Jennifer Bornholdt Hammond ’86, AFSA, and Craig Hammond Karen J. Hanson ’72 and McWelling Todman, P’10 Joan Harris P’14 Jeanette and Delbert Hausman P’16 Carl Hemenway P’04 SC Elizabeth and Robert Henske P’06 P’08 Megan Bellwoar Hollinger and Michael Hollinger P’15 P’23 Benjamin and Karen Hoyle P’00 P’03 P’07 Robert Jeter P’17 P’19 P’25 Mary Jimenez P’09 P’11 Mark Kahn ’75, and Lauren Kahn, P’14 P’17

SC=School Committee

Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

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“I have been associated with Abington Friends School for over 60 years as a parent of four graduates, as a faculty member and as an administrator. I’ve continued to support the school as I’ve watched it evolve in many ways, but the mission has never changed. Academic excellence is an expectation, but the community also has a respect for the individual, a deep morality driven by the Quaker values and a reverence for stewardship.”

Carol Frieder, Alumni Parent P’76 P’80 P’82 P’85 and AFSA Justin Kaplan and Diana Brody P’05 P’08 Elizabeth Kelly P’84, AFSA Peter Kollros and Barbara Konkle P’00 P’03 Karel Kovnat and Lee Adler P’12 P’14 Mathai and Mary Kurien P’10 Wayne Kurtz and Lisa Treadway-Kurtz P’14 P’18 P’22 Bonnie Libby P’16 Roseanne Liberti P’15 P’16 William and Susan Lockwood P’90 P’92 Charles and Clarabon Logan P’87 Richard and Molly Logan P’76 Andrea and Thomas Macey P’17 Todd and Susan Makler P’92 P’95 Raji and Thalia Malik P’16 P’24 P’28 Ann and Mark Manta P’09 P’10 P’13 Virginia R. Martin and Robert Comis P’98 Lynne Koolpe Mass, AFSA, and Burton Mass, G’20 Cris Maxwell P’07 Alison McCormick and Christopher Buzby, AFSA E. Kevin and Margaret McGlynn P’09 P’11 John and Margaret McMenamin P’11 Andrea and Devan Mehrotra P’17 P’20 Rosanne Mistretta and Steven Miano P’09 P’12 Sandra Scott Mraz and Dave Mraz P’09 Srimati Mukherjee P’14 Erica Nelson and Andrew Myers P’17 P’20 Rich and Robin Nourie P’10 P’13 Richard and Maureen Nunn P’05 Janet Oberg, AFSA, and Robert Oberg P’90 Faye Olivieri P’78 Judith and Craig Outten P’17 Deborra Sines Pancoe, AFSA and Craig Pancoe, AFSA Bernard and Mary Grace Panzak P’17 Susan and David Pardys P’14 P’17

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Grace Parsons P’83 Kenneth Patrick P’03 P’06 Emmett and Catherine Peabody P’12 Donald Perelman and Elise Singer P’06 Ralph and Cheryl Pinkus P’92 Lynn and Joseph Pokrifka P’15 P’17 P’20 Rusty Regalbuto P’02 P’11 Steven and Marcella Ridenour P’99 G’32 Maria and Eric Rieders P’11 P’14 Conrod Robinson P’12 P’19 Audra and Anthony Romano P’17 P’21 Simon and Kim Rosen P’12 P’14 Benjamin and Rebecca Roter P’10 Amy and Mitchell Russell P’11 P’16 Donna Russo P’05 Glen Sacks and William Valerio P’14 Mindy and Stephen Sage P’17 Joseph and Lore Salata P’05 Rodney and Tracey Sandmeyer P’08 P’11 SC Polly Sanford P’06 Margaret and Steven Sayers P’16 P’18 SC Randy J. Schwartz, AFSA, and Jay Finestone Gail Rosenau Scott ’64 and Thomas Quinlan, P’85 P’87 David and Barbara Seidenberg P’10 Ross and Lori Shanken P’17 P’20 P’24 SC Lauren and Michael Shepard P’15 Fran and Hal Sheppard P’16 Burton Siegel P’99 Elizabeth and John Silbaugh P’16 P’19 Cindy Silverman, AFSA and Jerry Silverman, P’01 P’05 Robert Silverman and Randi Leavitt P’05 Robert and Beverly Sitrin P’02 Matthew and Antoinette Slagter P’17 Alan and Ruth Smith P’77 P’80 P’83 P’84 G’12 G’15 Cyd and Stanley Smith P’13 P’17 P’18

Richard and Elizabeth Soltan P’08 P’10 Michael and Chelsea Sperger P’15 P’18 P’21 Doris Spike, AFSA Debbie Stauffer, AFSA, and Carol Palmer, AFSA, P’08 Anne Moch Steinberg and David Steinberg P’17 P’19 Marianna and Michael Sullivan P’94 P’98 G’27 G’30 Lil Swanson, AFSA, and Dave Warner Athena Tansimore and Gerald Andrews P’16 Ann Thompson and Patrick Mutchler P’07 P’11 Elizabeth Townsend, AFSA, P’03 P’08 April Tvarok, AFSA Diane Vernon P’76 SC Phil Vinogradov, AFSA, and Diana Gru, P’21 Dean and Audrey Wallace P’01 P’05 Christine Washington P’94 G’23 Julie Ufberg Webb ’98, AFSA Suzanne and Robert Williams P’10 P’14 Byron and Cynthia Wilson P’05 P’08 P’10 Wesley Wolf and Catherine Hunt P’09 David and Susan Wolk P’07 Janet and William Woods P’14 Crystal Wright P’17 Laura Zingle ’99, AFSA Robert and Marion Zingle P’99 Karen Zinn and Doug Brownlie P’17 Anonymous (4)

FRIENDS

GRANDPARENTS Susan and Paul Arruda G’27 G’29 Garland and Donna Barr G’25 Donna and Pierre Bastien G’28 Doris Benfer G’24

SC=School Committee Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

Jordan and Deanna Berman G’04 G’06 G’08 G’19 G’20 GG’30 Stewart Bramson G’27 Karen and Boyce Budd G’22 G’24 G’27 Sandra Burney G’21 Roger Clark G’30 Robby Cohen and Debby Peikes G’23 G’26 Barbara and Greg Copeland G’22 G’26 G’28 Erin Cytrynbaum Anne Egan G’21 G’25 John Elderfield and Jeanne Collins G’20 Joyce Elderfield G’20 Paul and Pnina Feiner G’22 Frank and Glenna Follmer G’16 Patricia Frankel G’24 Karl Frey G’23 Donna Garner G’20 Sarah Giddings G’17 Brenda Hamilton P’96 G’27 G’31 Edward and Mary Hayes G’19 G’21 David Jordan G’18 John and Jean Kiernan G’20 Sheila Kilpatrick G’22 Gerald and Kathryn Klein G’18 Robert Krull G’23 G’27 Jill and George Kyle Kristen Latteri Lewis and Rosemary Lloyd G’17 G’21 David Loder Harry and Phyllis Longenbach G’08 G’15 Lynne Koolpe Mass, AFSA, and Burton Mass, G’20 Cynthia and Thomas McCloskey G’32 Marty Miller G’26 G’29 Lori Moyer Katherine Nesbitt Barbara and Ken Neuberger G’19 G’22 Richard Nourie G’10 G’13 and Martha Nourie Radha Pai P’30 Charles and Ruth Peterson Steven and Marcella Ridenour P’99 G’32 Elizabeth and Robert Roak G’22 G’24 G’27 Salvatore and Pilar Rotella G’20 Sandy Sborofsky and David Calloway G’32 Ora Sheares G’05 G’08 G’10 Dveral and Alan Silberstien G’19 Alan and Ruth Smith P’77 P’80 P’83 P’84 G’12 G’15 Joan Smith G’28 Marianna and Michael Sullivan P’94 P’98 G’27 G’30 Eugenia Timmer G’27 G’29 Alice Turman Christine Washington P’94 G’23 Mrs. Claire Rosenthal Weiner ’50 and Mr. Norman Weiner, G’15 G’17 G’20 Cecelia Whitby G’20 G’22

FOUNDATIONS AND CORPORATIONS AXA Foundation Benevity Community Impact Fund Dell Faulkner Family Foundation Merck Partnership for Giving PAISBOA Services Corporation The Pew Charitable Trust Philadelphia Area Orff-Schulwerk Association Sandmeyer Steel Company The Korein Foundation Triskeles Foundation Wilf Family Foundation

LIGHTKEEPERS

Barry Bedrick, AFSA and Susan Bedrick Mary Helen Bickley AFSA * Christopher Biehn ’83 and Julie Biehn Marcia Boraas and Eugene Lugano P’10 P’13 Allison Boyle Sally Goldschmeding Branch ’64 Carl Brehmer AFSA * Carol Brick ’62 Mary Buckman ’74 Alice Atkinson Christie ’63 Marsha Cohen ’82 and Peter Lubowitz Evelyn Steelman Doane ’52 Nathan Gaskill * David Goodman * Marion Graham * Alexandra Hanson ’74 Robert and Charlene Hills P’06 P’08 Peggy Hurst ’42 * Julia Cheyney Knickerbocker ’38* Donald Knight * Peter Kollros and Barbara Konkle P’00 P’03 Elizabeth Mayers ’63 E. Kevin and Margaret McGlynn P’09 P’11 Hilda Notley P’79 Anne Peterson Ogan ’65 and Nick Ogan Regina Hallowell Peasley * Jane Cobourn Riley * LaRue Schutz P’67 * Elizabeth Smith AFSA * Mary Strang ’46 Marian Sullivan * Herbert Taylor * Anna Taylor * Evelyn Tyson 1917* Natalie Tyson 1914* Richard Wordinger, AFSA Elizabeth Zeliff *

SCHOLARSHIP GIVING

FRIENDS COLLABORATIVE Alan Balick P’13 P’19 P’19 Cindy Balick P’13 P’19 P’19 SC Marc and David Berman P’19 P’20 SC Steven and Ilene Berman P’04 P’06 Michael and Reina Cohen P’23 P’26 Stewart and Susan Fisher P’13 Michael Haberman ’97 and Michele Haberman BA McGettigan Mark and Colleen Mele P’19 P’21 P’23 Northwood Construction Richard and Robin Nourie P’10 P’13 Robert and Christine Pugh P’22 Irvin and Marilyn Schorsch P’20 Ross and Lori Shanken P’17 P’20 P’24 Jay and Jacqueline Silverman P’19 Anne Moch Steinberg and David Steinberg P’17 P’19 Anonymous EITC IMC Construction PEI-Genesis, Inc. Steven and Ricki Fisher P’13 Philip Rosenau Co., Inc Waste Management OSTC Comcast Corporation UGI Storage Company Utica National Insurance Group NAMED SCHOLARSHIPS Elizabeth G. Smith Scholarship Trust Elizabeth Taylor Fund Steven and Ricki Fisher P’13 Masland Foundation, C.H. & A.R Christopher Stetser ’75

ALL OTHER GIFTS

Abington Monthly Meeting Trustees Canon Solutions America, Inc. Edwin and Ruth Decker Lynne Koolpe Mass, AFSA, and Burton Mass, G’20 Ruth Bornholdt Olsson P’86 P’90 Eric and Linda Podietz P’08 P’11 Steven and Marcella Ridenour P’99 G’32 Marilyn and Irvin Schorsch P’20 SC Suzanne Scott T. Wister Brown Teachers Fund * (Deceased) SC=School Committee Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

Thank you to our generous donors and supporters! Every effort has been made to accurately reflect donations made between July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Please contact Karen Barrett at kbarrett@abingtonfriends.net if you find an error or omission.

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ROOTS RUN DEEP for The Faulkner Family

As members of the Abington Monthly Meeting, Hank and Gail Faulkner sent their four children, Julie Faulkner Perry ’95, Jocelyn Faulkner Casey ’97, Lucinda Faulkner Friedman ’98 and Harry Faulkner ’00 to AFS as lifers.

Hank and Gail served as School Committee Clerk and Secretary, respectively, for many years, and had close ties to the school. As a couple, they were revered for their visionary leadership, deep ethical integrity and incredible commitment to serving both AFS and the Meeting.

Hank collaborated with Heads of School Bruce Stewart and Woody Price to dream big for AFS and bring the school into its modern era, with a growing student body and campus. Hank and Gail chaired the ambitious Ever Stronger campaign, which transformed the campus through the addition of Student Street, the Library and the Student Resource Center. Hank passed away in 2003, before the building was completed.

His passing brought on a well-deserved surge of appreciation and love for the family and their integral role at AFS, which was demonstrated through the naming of the Faulkner Library for the family and the Faulkner Reading Room for Hank in 2004.

Gail said, “Having put four children through school (pre-K through 12th grade), we were really part of the fabric of the school, participating in all of the activities.

It was such an important part of our lives…I have lots of great memories from AFS—for instance, the Christmas programs, the middle school musical, the creek walks, the science fairs. There was always something every year that made it a special year for whatever child was in that grade. And Abington Friends always has had wonderful, caring, loving teachers.”

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The Faulkner family has remained remarkably faithful to the School. Today, two generations continue to support the School through their business and through the Faulkner Family Foundation: through the Fund for AFS, the EITC program for tuition assistance and the Now More Than Ever campaign for the Berman Athletics Center. Their loyalty and generosity has helped lay the groundwork for the school’s past and present success, and for our future ambitions.

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THIS IS HOME Loyda Camacho and Jerry Fluellen P’20 visited ten different schools before choosing AFS.

“They came home and said, ‘That’s our school! We just met our new best friends.’ They felt right at home,” says AFS mom and School Committee member, Loyda, who, along with her husband, Jerry, have remained staunch supporters of AFS for the past 13 years.

“AFS kids play hard and have a lot of school pride,” says Loyda.

She knows the involvement of parents like herself is integral in keeping the community strong. She says, “The things that you like about the school, or the things that you and your children want—you as a family are a part of maintaining and supporting these opportunities.

They deserve to have facilities that they can be proud of.”

The Campaign for Abington Friends School is an ambitious capital campaign, which was launched in late 2016 to address the current programming and strategic needs of our school and position AFS for future success.

The Richard N. Berman Athletics Center stands as the centerpiece of NOW more THAN EVER. Opened in September 2019, this $9.5 million transformative facility makes evident the School’s commitment to athletics, health and wellness as an essential dimension of an AFS education and provides a space for gathering and building community. The School is deeply indebted to the more than 260 donors to date who have generously supported this endeavor to strengthen the foundation of AFS for today and tomorrow.

Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Angelo and Sonia Adams P’09 P’14 Bianca Adams ’14 AFS XC and Track & Field Teams in Honor of Coach Kyle Rankin AFS Class of 2019 AFS Daisy Troop #7002 Alicia and Christopher Agoglia P’14 P’16 Kenneth and Diane Ahl P’01 P’05 Richard Ahl ’05 and Samantha Rothberg Airan-Javias P’27 P’30 Zachary Alper ’90 John and Lynn Apfelbaum P’01 P’04 Jackie Arnold, AFSA, and Robert Arnold, P’96 P’99 Benjamin and Jane Ashcom P’84 Adrienne Avery, AFSA, and William Avery, P’16 P’20 Gina and Isaac Baah P’20 The Balick Family Matthew Balick ’13 and Nicole Goroshovsky ’13 Elaine Barrett P’90 Jordan and Pierre Bastien P’28 Carol and Bruce Beaton P’10 Barry Bedrick, AFSA and Susan Bedrick Rick and Amy Bedrick P’15 and Nina Bedrick P’15 SC Doris Benfer G’24

Thomas Bengtson Allison Kanofsky Berg ’89 and Larry Berg Fred and Bryna Berman P’08 Jordan and Deanna Berman G’04 G’06 G’08 G’19 G’20 GG’30 Marc and David Berman P’19 P’20 SC Sharyn Berman and Charles Meyers G’30 Steven and Ilene Berman P’04 P’06 Nancy Zurn Bernardini ’74 and Steven Bernardini Robert Grundmeier and Robert Bettiker P’24 Kenneth Biehn P’83 Janet Binswanger P’08 P’12 P’16 David and Nina Bisbee P’16 Pine Forest Camp Bob and Louise Blanchard Donna Bleznak Keller and Stefan Keller P’23 Lowell and Richard Booth Marcia Boraas and Eugene Lugano P’10 P’13 Joan N. Brantz G’15 Rebecca Ethridge Bubb ’02 and Michael Bubb ’03, P’33 P’35 Lisa and Michael Budd P’22 P’24 P’27 Sandra Burney G’21 Christopher Butters and Bette Druck

Jillian Stauffer Butters ’08 and Alejandro Butters Jonathan Butters and Jacqueline Johnson Melissa and James Calder P’32 P’35 Loyda Camacho and Jerry Fluellen P’20 SC The Campbell Family SC Jocelyn Faulkner Casey ’97 and James Casey Stephen and Riza Cebula P’24 Jamie and Rachel Chadwin Steve and Sherrea Chadwin Darren Check ’92 and Priya Jairaj Check ’91 Karen Cheney and Tom Avril P’16 P’21 Aleese Chorice P’28 Sarah Churchill ’08 Lisa and Artur Cideciyan P’21 Amy and Michael Cohen P’20 Reina and Michael Cohen P’23 P’26 Anne Schreiber Collins ’48 Paula Cohen Corbman and Scott Corbman P’03 Stacey and Daniel Cunitz P’22 Christopher D’Angelo ’98 and Katie D’Angelo Desmond Daniels ’17 Davatzes Family Foundation Alexandra and Nicholas Davatzes P’23 P’27 Keri and Jason Delp P’29 Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation

The Berman Center truly signifies the strength of our community. An extraordinary accomplishment for AFS, the design and construction of this impressive space was made possible through the community’s generous support. As efforts continue to raise the $1 million remaining balance for the Athletics Center, we encourage those who have not yet supported the NOW more THAN EVER Campaign to consider playing a role in this historic AFS moment by making a gift at www.nowmorethanever.net.

SC=School Committee Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

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“Abington Friends School is a tremendous learning institution,” says Ed Hayes. “Based on my experience with my two grandchildren, the school not only nurtures but challenges the students to get the most out of each and every one of them.”

Ed and Mary Hayes G’19 G’21

Shelly Dorfman Gene and Joyce Douglas G’16 G’18 Shalona Douglas P’27 Bonnie Draper ’67 Marsha and Joseph Dratch P’00 Eileen Dunn and Sean Graber P’26 P’29 Annette Eddowes-Kiernan and Matthew Kiernan P’21 P’23 Laura and Riad El-Dada P’15 P’18 Joyce Elderfield G’20 Karolye Eldridge Andrea Emmons and Won Yoon P’24 Michael Erlich P’20 Scott Erman ’86 and Nancy Erman Matthew Eskin and Kristin Romens P’27 P’32 Jane Esslinger ’07 Robert and Doris Fanelli P’04 P’07 The Faulkner Family Foundation Karen Feisullin and Stephen Chrzanowski P’24 P’28 Anne Fields Julia and Samuel Finney P’16 Carla Fisher ’85 Susan and Stewart Fisher P’13 The Fishman Family Joyce Greenawalt Fleming ’60 and David Fleming Nica Waters Fleming and Robert Fleming P’18 P’20 Molly McDonald Foley ’92 Doris Foster Patricia Frankel G’24 Karl Frey G’23 Carol Frieder, AFSA, and Samuel Frieder, P’76 P’80 P’82 P’85 Samuel Frieder ’82 and Wendy Frieder G.W. Jr. Music, Inc. John and Beverly Gandolfo Donna Garner G’20

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Heidi Miller Garnick ’82 and Robert Garnick Lindsey Garrison ’07 Kathleen and Leonard Garza P’13 P’14 P’15 Arlene Wattis Gates ’59 Kevin and Janet Gift G’27 G’31 Saly A. Glassman and Ira S. Berman/ YouThePlanet Foundation Marjorie and Howard Gleit P’89 Marla Gold and Debra Brady P’22 Lauren Goldenberg ’80 and Leo Levin Sean Gor ’22 Ann Packer Guillot ’66 Matthew and Audra Gurin P’12 P’14 Brenda Hamilton P’96 G’27 G’31 Dagmar Strandberg Hamilton ’49 Margaret Harrington and Mark Emery P’21 Edward and Mary Hayes G’19 G’21 Pamela Heacock ’78 Melissa Henry P’27 Maria and David Hill P’21 Jessica and Robert Hoepfl Randy and Pam Hoepfl The Huggins Family In Honor of Louis Platt ’17 In Honor of Richa Chauhan Elliott Ingerman Ira Ingerman G’13 G’19* Randi Ingerman Carolyn and Gabriel Jackson P’27 P’27 Ahashta Johnson and Daniel Odom- Woodlin P’22 P’30 David Jordan G’18 Rachel Kane, AFSA Laine and Fred Kaplan Jill Paul Kaplan ’98 Arati Karnik and Lex Denysenko P’28 P’30 Stephanie Hindin Katz ’70 and Stan Katz Margaret Keane and Steven Locke P’13 P’15 Hossein Kholghi and Victoria Mikus John and Jean Kiernan G’20

Maria Kiernan and Salvatore Rotella, Jr. P’20 Kimberly and Daniel Kilpatrick P’22 Robert Krull G’23 G’27 Wayne Kurtz and Lisa Treadway-Kurtz P’14 P’18 P’22 Fiona Kyck and Paul Rossi P’24 P’27 Sandra Laiss-Sarkisian and Aram Sarkisian P’30 Miriam Lango and David Powlen P’25 David Leeser ’88 and Jodi Leeser Gordon Lewis P’17 P’20 P’22 Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Margaret Lockwood ’90 Charles and Clarabon Logan P’87 Susan and Terrance Lohr P’24 P’24 Harry and Phyllis Longenbach G’08 G’15 Kathryn Lopez Laura Lundy ’84 Valerie Lush and Betty Danley P’21 Shuting and Hong Ma P’25 Andrea and Thomas Macey P’17 Jonathan Makler ’95 and Elise Makler Susan and Todd Makler P’92 P’95 Carl and Marla Manstein P’08 P’12 Courtney and Matt Marsallo Anne and Phillip Martin P’27 Lynne Koolpe Mass, AFSA, and Burton Mass, G’20 Elizabeth Mayers ’63 Cynthia and Thomas McCloskey G’32 Claire McCusker and Jonathan Levy P’19 John McGlynn ’09 Kelly McGlynn ’11 Margie and Kevin McGlynn P’09 P’11 Michelle McKiernan and Stephen Conway P’32 Keith McKnight ’04 Marianne Wehner Mebane ’48 Jacqueline Miles-Sousa P’19 P’22

* (Deceased)

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Through the Friends Collaborative, the AFS community has a special opportunity to support scholarship students at AFS. Pennsylvania’s Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program gives AFS at least 75% of every contribution, and the remainder goes to support scholarships at other Quaker schools in the region.

The Meles are big advocates of the program.

What do you value most strongly about AFS? Obviously the rigorous academics are important but I have to say the community, the diversity, the Quaker tenants and the educational focus on the whole child are the things that are paramount for me. - Colleen Mele

on the Friends Collaborative with The Meles

Why give through the EITC Program?

For those of us in the AFS community that have small or large businesses, we have to pay money in tax revenue anyway—so why not divert it to a school that we believe in so wholeheartedly and is making such a difference in the education of our children and our community?

You don’t have to come up with grocery money or gas money or mortgage money to make these financial commitments to the school. - Mark Mele

The funding goes to support scholarships and that is important to us. My kids are currently benefiting from the generosity of those from a decade or more in the past. I think it’s important to realize that you have to continue to give in order for the future generations to be able to benefit from everything our kids have now.

- Colleen Mele

66 Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.

FOREVER GRATEFUL The Balick Brothers Ran With Purpose

Twins and running enthusiasts Chase Balick ’19 and Jack Balick ’19 not only wanted to help raise money for the school’s new athletics center, but they also sought to honor their track and cross-country coach, Kyle Rankin, who had impacted them deeply during their years at AFS. “Coach Kyle cultivated a team spirit and camaraderie among the athletes that went far beyond the track and fields on which we competed,” say Chase and Jack. “The lessons he taught us so we could be better runners served us in the classroom and in our daily lives and will continue to benefit us in the future.”

The brothers reached out to their teammates requesting pledges for their participation in the Love Run, a half marathon held in downtown Philadelphia. Participating

in this act of stewardship was important to the Balick twins because the name of the run, alone, was representative of the atmosphere they lived while at AFS. “We will forever be grateful to Kyle and to the many teachers at AFS that encouraged us to push past our perceived limits, to challenge our initial beliefs, and to continually search for our truth,” say the brothers.

Ultimately, the campaign raised a total of $5,840 in gifts and pledges from 11 families. In recognition of this effort, a plaque has been installed on the Now More Than Ever donor wall in the new athletics center with the inscription: “AFS XC and Track & Field Teams in Honor of Coach Kyle Rankin.”

Tracy Mills and Roderick Julye P’22 Rosanna Mirabile Rosanne Mistretta and Steven Miano P’09 P’12 Ferne Moffson, AFSA and Phillip Moffson, P’94 Carol Moore Elizabeth Mosley, AFSA Sandra Scott Mraz and Dave Mraz P’09 Holly and Barry Myers P’11 P’13 Shira Neuberger and Kelly Durand P’19 P’22 Lindsay and Paul Newlon P’27 P’31 Kimberly Nitzky ’93 Rich and Robin Nourie P’10 P’13 Anne Peterson Ogan ’65 and Nick Ogan Deborra Sines Pancoe, AFSA and Craig Pancoe, AFSA Bernard and Mary Grace Panzak P’17 Kathryn and Hector Perez P’19 P’21 Bethany Perry and Seth Newman P’19 P’21 The Perry Family Cameron Plenty P’18 Ivan and Susan Popkin P’89 Neil Powlen ’25 Aliza and Aaron Rabinowitz P’23 P’25 Janani Rangaswami P’27 Shalimar Reddy ’98 and Carl Ridenhour, P’18 Betsy and Jake Roak G’22 G’24 G’27 Jill and Gary Rosenfeld P’17 Noah Rosenfeld ’17 Jonathan Korein and Jane Rovins P’07 P’15 G’27 Susan Salesky Rudin ’57 SC Amy and Mitchell Russell P’11 P’16 Don and Dawn Salmon Daniel Samuels ’06 James Samuels P’22 Robert Sanchez P’03 P’05 Rodney and Tracey Sandmeyer P’08 P’11 SC Kenan Sayers ’18 Margaret and Steven Sayers P’16 P’18 SC Martha Scache Steven Scharf ’79 and Renae Scharf Brian Schiff and Susan Kardon Devin and Megan Schlickmann Genevieve Schmidt Camacho and Thomas Quinn P’20 P’23 Adam Schorsch ’03 and Melissa Ward Schorsch ’03 SC Irvin and Marilyn Schorsch P’20 SC David and Barbara Seidenberg P’10 SC Ross and Lori Shanken P’17 P’20 P’24 SC Arlen and Marijke Shenkman P’20 P’25 Cynthia Silverman, AFSA and Jerry Silverman, P’01 P’05

Lily Silverman ’19, Jacqui and Jay Silverman P’19 Matthew Silverstein ’96 Richard A. Simon ’82 Jane Smith ’80 and Jeffrey Ginsberg, P’12 P’14 Joanna Smith P’28 Amy and Mike Solwecki The Sperger Family SC Debbie Stauffer, AFSA, and Carol Palmer, AFSA, P’08 Gregg Stein David and Anne Steinberg P’17 P’19 Anna Stevens and Derrick Guyton P’25 Marianna and Michael Sullivan P’94 P’98 G’27 G’30 Lillian Swanson, AFSA, and Dave Warner and Susan Kardon Sarah Sweeney-Denham and Dan Denham Yvonne Thomas-Curry and Kenneth Curry P’22 Ann Thompson and Patrick Mutchler P’07 P’11 Nicole and Brian Thorne P’21 April Tvarok, AFSA Tyson Memorial Fund The Urbach Family

Matthew Velazquez ’26 Diane Vernon P’76 SC Angela Wagner Gary Waldman ’87 and Sloane Waldman, P’18 P’22 Maggie Waldman ’22 Sophie Waldman ’18 Christine J. Washington P’94 G’23 Malikha Washington and Gregg Moritz P’23 P’24 Beverly Weems P’99 Cynthia and Daniel Weinstock P’17 P’19 Linda Hano Weintraub ’55 Richard Wertime P’97 P’02 Brent Whitman ’80 and Doug Jensen Virginia Wilkinson, AFSA, and John Wilkinson Lynn Willson The Windmill Foundation Amy (Stein) Wood and Family Coleen Young and Jonathan Waldman P’23 P’31 Anonymous (2)

SC=School Committee Donor lists reflect gifts made between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

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CLASS NOTES 1954

DIANE CASTOR writes, “On August 26, my husband, Bruce, celebrated his 90th birthday. He is doing very well and, God willing, his older brother has his 96th the end of September. Long lives on this side of the family.”

1957

LIZ COLE writes, “I have been the Class of 1957 secretary for many years. Eight of us remain in touch out of 20 women who graduated together, including our senior year French exchange student, Gaby Tubach. Over the past months, I contacted each and found a strong, accomplished group of women still getting the most out of life. I hope they all share their news! My dear husband of 54 years and I enjoy trips, activities, our own interests and each other at a Quaker-style Continuous Care Retirement Community in Greenwood, South Carolina.

We have a long-planned small ship cruise for seniors through Alaska’s Inside Passage with a kayak launch platform on the ship. I hope to take good advantage of that! I have walked quite a few 5k races over the last 18 years, even won my age group now and then. Still, sitting on the deck searching trees and sky for another bird on my life list, with Dick alert to spot a breaching whale or a calving glacier beside me, is an appealing alternative. This Christmas week our two sons, a wife who loves to cook, and five grandkids, ages 12-17, will gather at a nearby lake for our biennial family vacation.

Always something fun ahead. Two years ago, I returned my membership to Abington Friends Meeting. A friend here was a Quaker in Willistown, PA, growing up, attended George School and returned her membership to her home Meeting soon after I did to Abington Friends Meeting. She will be 90 in two weeks and is in our Health Care Center, where they provide a quiet room for us to hold Quaker Meeting each week. There are just two of us, but we share God’s peace in our quiet time together. In this world so filled with those eager to divide us, I am again a child surrounded by love and inclusiveness for all, and I am home.”

1959

CAROLYN LINDIG LAUMER uwrites, “Five members of the Class of ’59 attended the AFS Class of 2019 commencement this 70 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

past June. In the photo, left to right, Carolyn Lindig Laumer, Bethel Logan Paris, Gail McDowell Peake, Kathryn Lindig Moser and Susanne Sachs Hunter.

The five of us were delighted to have front-row seats and be mentioned during the ceremony. We look forward to seeing ourselves in the next Oak Leaves.

Also some of us will attend Alumni Day on October 5th for our 60th reunion.”

KATHRYN MOSER u We had a luncheon at Springhouse Tavern and gathered at the home of Louise Scarlett, our adopted classmate, for an evening of fun and reminiscing.

Sunday some of us attended Abington Friends Meeting.

All in all a fun time was had by all!

L to R-row 1 : Gail McDowell Peake, Katie Lindig Moser, Bethel Logan Paris, Shirley Goetz. L to R-row 2 : Sandy Chersky Long, Penny Stephanie Blechstein, Sherry Dunham Clark, Deedee Wilson, Diane Morton Arbaugh, Carolyn Lindig Laumer. Attended, but not in the picture was Susanne Sachs Hunter.

1966

BETH EBERT BENVENISTE u writes, “In April I hosted our class of 1966 reunion at my home along the beautiful eastern shore in Maryland.

As expected, we all look like we did when we graduated.”

1968

BECKY VAN BUREN writes, “Three years ago, after teaching middle and high school art for 30+ years, I decided to make a career change! I returned to college and in May 2019 I completed my A.A.S.—4th college degree!—as a veterinary technician. It was much more science and math than I anticipated! In August, I passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam and will soon begin to work in the field. Many of my friends are retiring now, but here’s to being a life-long learner in your 60s!”

1969

JENNIFER FRENCH u writes, “This year—the one that amazingly marks my 50th since graduating from AFS— I got married. It’s something I never intended to do again!

Funny how life works. Here is a photo of my dear husband, Eric Abraham, and me on June 1st after the big event.”

The “half-century women” would like to report to their alma mater on their celebratory gathering. Four of us (out of 13 in our original class) shared a wonderful time and beautiful space at Robin Becker’s summer cabin in New Hampshire. Robin kept the pace brisk as we cooked healthy meals, walked the shady dirt roads, explored the charming little village of Harrisville, shared Jenny French’s songbook and folk guitar melodies, learned from Laura Conkey’s extensive botanical (and other natural science) knowledge, and gasped to hear of the biking and hiking exploits of Bart (Nancy Hemmerich). We scoured our old yearbooks’ funny pictures and silly inscriptions. We talked via phone with Barb Coles, and talked of our beloved dead (Sylvia Raab, Betsy Harrison, and Nan Harbison), not too mention faculty now gone—all those folks who could not be present with us. As Bart said, “For me, our reunion gatherings have meant more and more as the years pass. Much about each of us hasn’t changed one bit—I know I still feel 18 inside—but we have each developed into such unique and wonderful people whose friendships and wisdom I value more than words can express.” As Robin said, “I loved being immersed in the sounds and sights of our 68-year-old selves: everyone has her aches and her joys. We’re all figuring out how to navigate the next stage of life. I’m so grateful [to ruminate on this] with women I’ve known for so long.” As Laura put it, “dipping toes into Nubanusit Lake, floating on the waters of memories of years past, basking in the support and love of half-centuryold friendships, we relocated the foundation from our shared youth that still sustains us.”

1970

HEATHER SAUNDERS ESTES writes, “A shout-out to AFS alum networking! Robin Becker, Class of 1969 and a wellknown poet and professor, wrote a recommendation for the back of my recent, debut poetry book, Inner Sunset. We remembered my father, Nelson Saunders, AFS Business Manager, and Economics teacher and the indomitable science teacher Maria Peters for whom Robin has written a poem in her new book, The Black Bear Inside of Me.”

1972

EILEEN TERRY DUNKLEBERGER u writes, “Even a broken shoulder didn’t prevent Kathy Lanning Saporito and me from rocking out at The Rolling Stones concert in July. I plan on retiring from teaching at the end of this school year in June 2020.”

1974

MICHELLE COOPERSMITH BERK writes, “I’m a Fort Washington, PA Elder Law attorney who greatly enjoys networking and catching up with Estate Planning attorney Mary Buckman. We were both in the class of 1974!”

1975

SINDY PAUL FRIEDMAN writes, “This has been an exciting year. I received the Ray L. Casterline Award for Excellence in Medical Writing from the Federation of State Medical Boards in April. Our daughter, Melissa Friedman esq, married Justin Horton esq at the Brooklyn Winery on July 27, 2019. They are both practicing attorneys at law firms in New York City. Our younger daughter, Rebecca Friedman CPA, is starting Harvard Law School this fall.”

1976

JANE PAGE writes, “I’m doing well and proud to report that this summer my son, Benjamin McCracken, appeared at New York City’s The Public Theater in MOJADA. It was a retelling of the Medea story in our current U.S./Central American/Caribbean immigration crisis.”

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PETER TAYLOR writes, “After moving to the South Shore of Nova Scotia last October, Roger and I are in the thick of building our new home on a bluff overlooking Rose Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.”

1988

MIKE MORRIS writes, “I was diagnosed in late 2018 with a malignant tumor known as an MPNST along my spine in the center of my back. It developed from mildly annoying back spasms around my birthday to barely being able to walk a month later. Following one operation on Thanksgiving day, physical therapy, Proton Beam treatments, and another operation in May, I am thrilled to share that not only do I appear to be free of the original cancer, with no signs of metastases either, but have regained nearly all of my diminished physical mobility. The light, love, and messages of support were most appreciated and helpful. In 2019, I celebrated my 12th wedding anniversary, Ethan’s 11th birthday, Owen’s 6th, and my 5th year as a Cubmaster for Pack 252. I’m looking forward to marking my 50th birthday this October 12. Our 35th class reunion is just three years away. I want to see each and every member of our class there because I fully intend to attend whatever shindig we throw. If anyone would care to read my whole journey through my cancer battle, I kept a journal on the caringbridge.org website. https://www. caringbridge.org/visit/mikemorris69. I’m currently giving serious consideration to writing a book about changing perspectives at turning points in my life. (Mike, getting all introspective and philosophic? Big surprise, huh?)

To know more about NF1, the condition that caused my tumor, visit the Children’s Tumor Foundation at www.CTF.org”

1992

SARAH CALDWELL writes, “After 20 years in TV News, I am finally getting some sleep! More importantly, I have found much more purpose in my new career at Calvert School, a K-8 in Baltimore. I became the Director of Leadership Gifts a year ago and haven’t looked back.

Thrilled for this new opportunity and loving the extra time with my two boys who are now 18 and 15!”

1995

JON MAKLER writes, “I embarked on a trip around the world with my family. We left our home in Portland at the end of June to roam the U.S. for four months.

We left the country for nine months abroad on November 1. You can follow our blog (12on6.blogspot. com) or our Instagram @twelveonsix.”

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1997

MELINDA MARTINEZ writes, “I am a water ambassador for the Philly tap water.”

1999

LAURA ZINGLE writes, “I am celebrating nine years of living in San Diego, where I am expecting my second child, a girl, in the fall and am in my seventh year as the Resident Stage Manager of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus. I also continue to stage manage theatre and events and was recently the Event Coordinator for Jazz On Tap Festival 2019, a fundraiser for San Diego Water For People. Missing my AFS family but hoping I can reconnect next time I’m in town!”

2004

VALENCIA CARTER u writes, “I married Marvin Barnes on June 1, 2019, at the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia. I’m so glad that some close friends of ’04 were able to come. They are like family now, and I couldn’t imagine my special day without them.”

2005

BRIAN LACKMAN writes, “It’s been a busy year at Duke University working with Student Leadership.

I’ve been engaged in scholastic work on both peerreviewed publications and book chapters, Recently I had a chapter published on program assessment design and implementation in a book on men & masculinities.

Additionally, I have an upcoming book chapter on understanding asexual student development in college students. Otherwise making the most of NC hiking and adventuring with my dog and friends.”

2006

EMILY WEISS writes, “Hi everyone! I’m still living in New Hampshire, right outside of Boston, with my husband and 2-year-old, Brooklyn. I will be starting my year as a 2nd grade teacher in September!

Hope everyone’s doing well! Let me know if anyone’s in the Boston area! :) OH WHAT?! OH SIX!”

2007

BRANDON WILLIAMS u writes, “This year we won the Under Armour Association (UAA) shoe circuit 16u National Championship. The circuit consists of 32 teams that hail from all over the U.S. and Canada. There are three, four-game sessions. Session I was in Kansas City, MO, where we went 4-0. Session II was in Manalapan, NJ, where we went 4-0. Session III was in Atlanta, GA, where we went 3-1, going into the Finals as the top seed at 11-1. In the finals, we avenged our only loss to West Coast Elite, on our way to the Final 4 where we beat Ohio C2K Elite and then DC Premier in the championship game. We finished the circuit with an overall record of 15-1 and have been ranked by Prephoops.com as the #1 16u Grassroots club in the country since May. In addition to winning the Under Armour circuit, we won the Hoop Group Spring Jam Fest as well as our Philly Pride Big Shots event. The championship was the first for the Philly Pride program since joining the UAA in 2013. Philly Pride has a rich basketball alumni that include Charlie Brown (St. Joe’s) Daniel Ochefu (Villanova) Rysheed Jordan (St. John’s) & DeAndre Hunter (University of Virginia).”

2008

ELIZABETH SOLTAN writes, “I graduated from Harvard Law School in May. My Juris Doctor was conferred cum laude. I performed more than 1,000 hours of pro bono work, representing clients at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. Additionally, I successfully argued a case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in December winning a unanimous decision—an extraordinary accomplishment for a third-year student. I was also awarded a Skadden Fellowship, providing two years of funding at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. I was profiled at skaddenfellowships.org and was one of 28 graduates who were dedicating the first two years of their careers to public interest law. My extensive work at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and the Skadden recognition are a reflection of AFS’s emphasis on and dedication to community service. After graduating from AFS, I went to Cornell University. I had participated in the Telluride Association Summer Program (TASP) while at AFS, at the urging of my AFS counselors. That experience led to my acceptance into the Telluride House on Cornell’s campus. I graduated with a BA in

history, which was conferred summa cum laude.

I graduated with distinction in all courses at Cornell since my average exceeded 4.0, and I have been elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. I was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, which led me to teach in Malaysia for 11 months after graduation.”

2009

ANNIE MERRIT P’09 u writes, “My son, Zack, graduated from Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Doctor of Medicine, Magna Cum Laude in May 2018. His prior education accolades include graduating from Grinnell College Bachelor of Arts, Physics with Honors and Thomas Jefferson University, Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Postbaccalaureate Pre-Professional Program. He is now doing his residency in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center/Einstein Hospital, NY. Zack’s ulitmate specialty will be cardiology. In the little spare time he has, he likes to hike, especially in Colorado and Utah.”

2011

BRIA HOWARD u writes, “Outside of my full-time position, I have been teaching dance for the past three years. I recently have been moved to the Assistant Artistic Director at B’ella Ballerina Dance Academy in Center City, Philadelphia. I’ve been able to mold students into great ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern, and acrobatic dancers. It was important to me to have a space that encouraged dancers of color to be their true selves and have a safe space to explore their identity as dancers. I pride myself on creating a space, similar to my academic learning spaces at AFS, that allows each student to be exactly who they want to be, on and off the marley floor. It’s even inspired me to create my own dance series, titled “Back to You Dance Series,” designed to encourage adults who have danced before to get back to being their true dance selves. I’ve learned an incredulous amount about what it means to be teacher; it’s not just about who those students are in your classroom, but who

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you help them to become outside of the classroom. I am so thrilled about my new position and the 2019-2020 dance season to come!”

2011

GENESIS FELIZ u writes, “On August 3, 2019, my longtime boyfriend, William Jones, and I got engaged. He pulled off an incredible proposal at the National Mall with all of our closest friends and family present. We intend on getting married in about two years once I am done with my clinical year at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.”

2012

MARLEE MILLER writes, “Hello friends! Sending you all love and light. Things are going well here in NYC. I recently returned from a cross-country trip, including a couple cities in Canada, with Bread and Puppet Theater. It was an incredible experience I will treasure forever. I can’t believe I was so lucky as to be able to take on such a monumental adventure with a historic activist theatre company. We saw so much beauty, performed two different shows—including a circus—and met so many incredible people. I’m now back in the city working as a Volunteer Coordinator at a therapeutic horseback riding center and loving it. That’s all for now.

Hope you all are well!”

2013

REBECCA FISHER u writes, “I graduated from Haverford College in May 2018 and was excited to receive a grant from Haverford to fund me and a college friend’s startup, Beyond the Bell Tours.

Beyond the Bell is a social enterprise committed to putting the people back into people’s history through inclusive historical

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walking tours in Philadelphia. I have carried many AFS values into into this intentional work. I’m inspired by the work of AFS students, faculty, and alums, and the AFS community continues to play an important role in my life. It was great to give tours this year to Drew Benfer’s History class and to Medex students with Rosanne Minstretta. Hope to see some of you on a tour sometime!”

2014

MICHAEL HARDING is set to embark on a life-changing opportunity as a Fulbright Scholar, receiving the most prestigious international scholarship awarded in the United States. In 2020, Michael will spend the year at Universidad Diego Portales and El Museo de La Memoria y Los Derechos Humanos in Santiago, Chile researching the challenges of achieving transitional justice and social healing after overcoming political injustice. He is also pursuing his J.D. at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law as a Public Interest Scholar.

JESS WILLIAMS writes, “After graduating college,I took on a job as a photographer at Bravado Merchandising, a merchandising company that makes merch for many bands and musicians, including The Rolling Stones.

I have spent the last couple of months at my job, preparing to unveil an exclusive pop-up shop for The Rolling Stones to celebrate their North American 2019 No Filter Tour. In July, the pop-up opened at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City and Maxfield in Los Angeles!”

2015

BEN FORMAN writes, “I graduated from Clark University with honors. Over the summer, I worked for Franklin Templeton in NYC. I will return to Clark in the fall to get a Masters degree in Urban Development.”

2016

MATTHEW POHUBKA writes, “I just wanted to share that I graduated from The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College with a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts.”

2017

ELLA POKRIFKA u writes, “This summer I went with my family to China.

However, it was not only my family, but the family of Selina Zhou ’19, too. We decided after hosting Selina for four years in our home that we should pay a visit to hers. It was a lifechanging experience to see the other domain and culture that Selina comes from. It was also amazing to spend so much time with her two loving parents. Hosting Selina will forever be a highlight of my life. This photo was taken at the Summer Palace in Beijing, which was an imperial garden in the Qing Dynasty.”

ANDREW SAGE u writes, “This summer I traveled around Asia with two of my friends from AFSKyungbae (KB) Kim ’16, and Mykey Carpenter ’18. We spent several weeks in August exploring Japan and South Korea. We ended our trip in Kyungbae’s hometown, Gangneung, getting to meet his parents and sister. It was an amazing experience, and even after spending all that time together, we are still great friends!”

A LUM N I FA C U LT Y A N D STA F F A S S O C I AT I O N ( A F S A ) N O T E S

DEBRA RAMSEY uwrites, “I took this photo at my son’s wedding. Nathan graduated from Cornell and is currently Chief Engineering Officer at Acme Atronomatic in Portland, Oregon. The company is best known for the MyRadar App. Marta Fisher graduated from Grinnell with a degree in Biology and earned a Masters in Forestry—Ecological Restoration—from Northern Arizona University. She is an Epidemiologist.”

L to R, Marta Fisher, Nathan Ramsey, Josh Markovitz.

2018

CHRISTINA JUSTE writes, “I secured a position at a Neurochemistry lab at Columbia University where I will be studying the interactions between the protein metallothionein-3 and lead in order to quantify the impact of the Flint, Michigan, water crisis on children.”

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MESSAGES FROM THE ALUMNI OFFICE Yards Brewing Company Gathering On May 8, 2019, Abington Friends School held an alumni Gathering of Friends at Yards Brewing Company in the Northern Liberties neighborhood in Philadelphia. Alumni, with class years that ranged from 1965 to 2013, came together to reminisce and celebrate their time at AFS. Rebecca Fisher ’13, says, “It was lovely to check in again with AFS values and the AFS community at Yards last spring. It was a joy to see old faces and familiar friends.”

Head of School, Rich Nourie, gave the group a campus update and attendees took a tour of the brewery. To stay on top of the latest AFS alumni news and events, follow the alumni office on Facebook and LinkedIn (see bottom of this page for details).

Save the Date

Alumni Day 2020- Saturday, October 3

All alumni are invited to return to campus for the events.

We will be celebrating milestone reunions for those classes ending in ’5 and ’0.

Seeking Class Chairs to help plan milestone reunions!

Class Chairs work alongside the AFS Advancement Office in keeping fellow alumni informed and encouraging them to attend reunion activities. Additionally, they will lend support with the Reunion Year Giving program, which is a way to honor your AFS experience with a meaningful gift to the school through the Fund for AFS. Interested in being a Class Chair?

Email Lisa Budd, Director of Alumni Engagement, lbudd@abingtonfriends.net

Be A Mentor!

Through the Center for Experiential Learning (CEL), students have the opportunity to travel locally and abroad to benefit from in-depth, real-world experiences and mentorship.

Rooted in the Quaker belief that experience is a student’s most powerful teacher, our school provides students with invaluable professional and cultural experiences. Currently, the Center is looking for new mentors for the 2019-2020 school year for its learning cohorts: MedEx, BizEx, LawEx and Senior Capstone Program. Interested in volunteering or connecting students to external internships?

Email Lisa Budd, Director of Alumni Engagement, lbudd@abingtonfriends.net.

Stay in touch Roos!

ALUMNI OF ABINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL

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ABINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL ALUMNI

TA L E S F R O M O U R PA S T Coach Lib Smith Was a Beloved Teacher Full of Character If ever there was a face of commitment and true dedication to one’s craft and passion, it was Lib Smith, a beloved AFS coach, who never missed a day of work in her 30 years of service.

Born in 1900, Smith, who rode her horse to school in her youth, always aspired to one day become a coach.

According to Nancy Baily Neely ’41 and Margaret Bradley Werden ’35, during her tenure at AFS, each of her teams in every sport posted a winning season during the three decades she coached. And though today we are used to teams being divided by talent or grade with varsity, junior varsity, first string, second string, etcetera, Smith was adamant that all playing fields remain level, meaning that she randomly split players up and named the teams “Blue” and “White.”

This type of coaching not only brought out the best effort of each player but it also served to foster closer bonds among players and between teammate and coach as everyone considered Smith their friend.

The friendships and mentoring didn’t stop when the games did. In fact, for 25 years straight, Smith, who stood 6 ft. tall, accompanied groups of students to Wyoming and the Canadian Rockies so she could introduce them to real ranch experiences.

Clearly Smith loved her career, her students, and her life because when she was interviewed at age 96, she said, “I was paid a salary by just playing all day.”

It may have felt like play, but Smith touched a lot of lives during her time at AFS. Her spirit that embodied faithfulness, gratitude, fairness, humility and grace lives on at AFS today.

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IN MEMORIAM DAVID HOYLE ’03 David Hoyle ’03 combined his passion for cycling with his passion for making positive change in the world by organizing various cycling events and programs, including Team26, a group of 26 cyclists that formed following the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut. Each spring, the team rides their bikes from CT to Washington, DC to raise awareness about gun violence and to advocate for reasonable legislation.

Sadly, David passed away suddenly on April 1, 2017, while on a bike ride.

David had said that he rode to demonstrate that young people can make a difference in society.

“I ride to show compassion for others. I ride to share the messages of those who no longer can,” David had stated. “Gun violence is not inevitable if we continue to work together to solve the issues. Passionate dialogue and a better understanding of concerns is what we need to make positive changes towards a safer country.”

David entered AFS in second grade and was a “half lifer”. He was a member of the soccer and cross-country teams. He also adored art and at his graduation presented his teacher and coach, Eddie Mensah, with a painting of David Beckham. He went on to earn a degree in Studio Art, but his dedication to cycling pulled

him in a different direction career-wise and he was appointed the Executive Director of the Connecticut Cycling Advancement Program (CCAP) in Middletown, CT. While at CCAP, he helped develop cycling teams and events for more than 500 youth throughout the state. In addition, he brought the Cyclocross National Championships to Hartford and annually spearheaded the New Haven Grand Prix, a major cycling event on the racing calendar.

Above all, David was a humanitarian who worked diligently to make the world a safer place.

“I want to show friends, families, co-workers, peers, teammates, and all others impacted by gun violence that they are not alone in making things right,” he had said. “I want them to know that I stand by their side.”

That he did as he served to inspire and enlighten the community. David was to ride again in 2019 as Team26 bypassed Washington DC and rode to Pittsburgh, PA to honor those killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, while making a special stop at AFS in David’s honor under the message of “Peace, Hope, and Love.”

As described by a friend, “a role model, a leader,a teammate, and most importantly a friend. All ways I would describe Dave Hoyle. His constant smile and neverending love for others astounded me. He has made the world a better place.” David is survived by his wife, Nicole, parents Benjamin and Karen, siblings Jonathan AFS ’00 (Blair Wagenblast), and Julia AFS ’07 (Kelby Russell), and nephew Theo.

RANDI BERMAN ’77 Randi Berman, daughter of Malcolm and Carolyn Pritzker, passed quietly on December 21, 2018, from complications due to MS. Having attended Abington Friends School, American University and Penn State, Randi married her husband Jay. Diagnosed with MS, she embraced life with a sense of humor, courage, a love of art, her cats and an indomitable spirit. She cared deeply for those she loved and was comforted by their love in return. Wife, daughter, sister, friend, she saw the world in vivid colors both warm and engaging. Survived by her husband Jay Berman, father and stepmother Malcolm and Sandy Pritzker and her brother, Andrew, she will be remembered by those she loved, and she will be missed.

RACHEL BROWNELL ’02 Rachel Marie Brownell passed away on March 12, 2019.

Rachel was born on a sun-filled autumn morning, eyes opened wide as feathering stars and taking in, even then, the world in which she would live. She was and will always be the beloved daughter of Bruce and Mary Chris (Legato) Brownell, the loving and protective sister to Carrie. She is the adoring aunt of Jude. She loved to draw and to dance, to read and to play. She loved to laugh. She couldn’t write a word and let it sit alone on a page. She loved teaching her students to read, the gesture of words unknown becoming known.

She loved Lyra. We understand the meaning of movements long before we understand those of words.

She will be missed by all of her Italian aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

HELEN CLEMENT SWISHER DAVENPORT ’46, aged 90, passed away on Sunday, May 12, 2019. She was born in Abington, Pennsylvania November 12, 1928 to the late Joel and Helen (Clement) Swisher. Preceded in death by her sister Edith Crosman (nee Swisher) and brother Clem Swisher.

RICKER GOULD ’10 Ricker Robert Clarke Gould, aged 28, beloved son, brother, uncle, partner, father and friend passed away on March 27, 2019. Born January 8, 1991, in New York City, Ricker lived in Washington State, Elkins Park and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ricker lit up every room he entered with his warm and outgoing personality.

SUSAN PETERSON MAXFIELD, JULY 14, 1944 – MAY 22, 2019 Susan Peterson Maxfield (neé Susan Avery Peterson), an award-winning fine artist who worked across a variety of mediums in contemplative homage to the natural world, died on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at her home in Stow, MA. Susan was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 14, 1944, to Grace (Mimsey) Olmsted Peterson Potts and Harold (Pete) Leon Peterson, Jr.

She discovered her artistic talent as a child, encouraged by her maternal grandfather, Harold (Coddy) LeRoy Olmsted. Susan’s steady hand produced meditations that spanned all seasons: from majestic beech trees with their bulbous trunks rendered in striking dark charcoal, to the brittle autumn milkweed pods and wisps of flossy seeds captured in oil pastels. Her watercolors of lilies, poppies and irises were delicate masterpieces.

Susan studied at Abington Friends School, Oberlin College, and the Philadelphia College of Art. In the summer of 1965, she was introduced to William Heyward (Bill) Maxfield, who also lived at Bryn Gweled Homesteads in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Bill and Susan were married in 1967 under the care of Abington Friends Meeting. Since 1975, their home has been a restored farmhouse in Stow, Massachusetts, where they raised their two sons, Benjamin Bowly (Jamie) Maxfield, of Arlington, Massachusetts, and Peter Legate Maxfield, of Portland, Oregon. Susan is survived by these three and by Peter’s spouse Andrea Alejandrino and their two children, Roman Alejandrino Maxfield and Julianna Alejandrino Maxfield (both adored by their “GrammaSue”); by her sister, Anne Peterson Ogan (Nicholas); by her stepsister, Lydia Potts Quill (Paul Jefferson); and by her stepbrother, Edward Rhoads Potts, Jr. (Laura).

The Saturday before she died, Susan spent part of the beautiful spring afternoon outdoors in the yard, surrounded by her family and several friends. Ever the careful observer of nature’s splendor, she reveled in the new blooms, the birdsongs and the warmth of the May sun.

“Working from nature directly, I desire to take the viewer to a place to show you what I see, to share the moment of discovery,” she once wrote. “My drawings are the result of my fascination and reverence for nature. I endeavor to show the plants in the precise state I observe them, without idealization, in their ’glorious particularity.’”

Susan began writing a journal in late 2016. www.spmjournal.wordpress.com DORIS DRUMMER PYLE ’49 On May 11, 2019, Doris (Dorrie) Drummond Pyle quietly passed away surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her adoring husband of 66 years, Charlie Pyle; her children, Brad, Jean, Peggy and Barbara; 79

IN MEMORIAM continued from page 67

grandchildren Chris, Dan, Sadie and Emma; great granddaughter, Charley; her sister Joan Humphreys, nephews, niece and many loving in-laws. Dorrie, who was an ambitious student and athlete, attended Abington Friends School and Mount Holyoke College, both of which provided loving and loved friends. Dorrie and Charlie became friends when they were 12, having met at dance classes where she invited him to a Sadie Hawkins dance.

Ten years later, they were married in Jenkintown, PA. Charlie’s time in the marines and his subsequent career with Rohm and Haas took the family to different cities across the U.S. and ultimately to Surrey, England, where Dorrie and Charlie embraced their love of golf, skiing and travel. Dorrie was a wonderful cook, preparing dinner every night (promptly served at 7 p.m.!) except when the family was on vacation. They returned to the States in 1975, and Dorrie reconnected with many of her high school and college friends through her love of golf and bridge.

Dorrie loved to sew clothes and being an exacting person, she was insistent that plaids and lines would match. It was clear that her clothes were handmade because of the highest quality of her pieces. She also enjoyed playing the piano and was frequently surrounded by friends and family at parties and Christmas gatherings with drinks in hand and joy on faces, singing along to the music that Dorrie created. She enjoyed time with her friends and family and a nice sip of scotch.

She was an active participant in the Wayne Presbyterian Church, and at St. David’s Golf Course. We will miss her laugh, her love and her cheesecake.

Donations in Doris’ memory may be made to: Wayne Presbyterian Church, or Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (alzfdn.org).

AMY VAN BUREN ’71 Becky Van Buren ’68 writes I am sad to share that my sister, Amy Van Buren (AFS class of 1971) passed away on July 22, 2019, after many years of ill health, including cancer. She was an ardent lover of all animals and spent many happy days roaming the beaches of South Carolina, where she retired and spent the last five years of her life. She leaves behind our mother, Nancy Van Buren of Pawleys Island, SC, older sister, Becky Van Buren of Denver, CO, as well as nephews Daniel, Peter, Lyle and niece Merritt Baer.

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AFSA CHEL AVERY Former Director of Quakerism at AFS, Chel Avery, passed away in the fall of 2018.

HILDA GRAUMAN Hilda B. Grauman passed peacefully on June 20, 2019, at her home in Kendal with her brother, John, his wife, Frances, and her niece, Jenny, at her side.

They reported a very peaceful departure. Hilda is survived by John and Frances Beer; by her three children, Frank Grauman, Thomas Grauman and Lisa Adler; by their three spouses, Louise, Wendy and Stephen; and by seven grandchildren, Evan, Jan, John, Justin, Lucía, Nels and Peter. Last October, she became a great-grandmother with the birth of Jan’s son, Henry. Daughter of the late Otto and Lucy Beer, Hilda spent both her childhood and her retirement with her sister and brothers, Lise, Martin and John. Remarkably close to each other, all four siblings chose to spend their later years together at Kendal. Hilda lived there for 24 years. In the onset to World War Two, the Beer family migrated from their native St. Ingbert, Germany, to the United States, following several years in Paris. Along the way, Hilda’s adopted French identity became an important part of her life, as she completed high school at New York’s Lycée Français and then became a high school language teacher.

Before starting her varied teaching career, she worked as a personnel officer in the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Her husband, John Grauman, also worked at the United Nations, where he was a demographer at the UN’s Headquarters in New York. John’s career took the family to Paris (1956) and Santiago de Chile (1959-1962), where Hilda founded a correspondence-based high school for US expat teenagers, and where their daughter Lisa was born.

After John’s early death in 1976, Hilda and Lisa moved to Philadelphia. There, Hilda continued her teaching career at the Abington Friends’ School until her retirement to Kendal in 1995. Consistent with her Quakerly values, she was especially pleased to have founded AFS’ community service program.

In 1977, Hilda penned an essay that stated, “On the personal level, I hold to honesty, integrity, love and simplicity as basic tenets. I believe in traditional values of family life which flow from personal values: love, simplicity, honesty in all dealings, joyfulness, service to others, sacrifice when called for, the ’sanctity’ of marriage and the stability of the family institution as basic to society….My major endeavor has always been to work for understanding among people and the advancement of peace. My husband’s and my own deep commitment and involvement with the United Nations were the prime directives of our life together.

I use the teaching of languages [French and Spanish] primarily as an avenue for opening the minds of young people to create respect and understanding for other people and their culture. I believe that moral and religious values are integral to all learning. Myself a victim of persecution in Europe in the late thirties, I have always been much preoccupied with war, peace and the resolution of conflict. [It’s] one of the reasons for my becoming a Friend (Quaker)… [and we] brought up our children as Friends in the hope that they would espouse our philosophy.” This way of being was manifest in the many things for which Hilda is remembered: her dedication to friends and family; her long and deep friendship with Nolan Carter, who became a beloved figure in her life and was known among grandchildren as Grandpa Nolan; her many European bicycle trips with Nolan, her brother, Martin and sister-in-law, Winnie; her dedicated volunteering as a SpanishEnglish health center interpreter; and her passion for the coming generations.

Those wishing to make a contribution in her memory may wish to consider Community Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM.com), where she was for many years a dedicated language interpreter, or Friends Committee on National Legislation (fcnl.org), whose peace and justice advocacy she long supported.

ALTA HARRISON Howard Sullivan ’76 writes, "I regret to inform you of the passing, December 23, 2018, of Mrs. Alta Harrison, former AFS Upper School secretary. She was a longtime friend of our family, as well as a fellow member of Zion Baptist Church."

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END NOTE Lifelong Learning: An Educator Paying it Forward

BY MEGAN HOLLINGER

I ask my students to do ridiculous things. Often.

In September, I usually plan a unit that will set the tone for the year, take the class out of their comfort zones and introduce vocabulary and concepts that I plan to return to again and again as we move forward in our work. In past years we’ve started with improvisation, with devised movement, with mask work and with storytelling. This year we started with clown.

The day I gave them their red noses we created a ritual together. We formed a circle, took a breath and made eye contact with each other. We dropped our heads and donned our noses. Then our clowns looked up and made eye contact again - and the mere addition of these noses allowed for some essential transformation, or revelation, of authentic truth. The nose gives permission by both hiding and revealing at the same time.

And then we moved on to the ridiculous: eccentric dancing, the composing of songs with titles like “Do I Have To?” and “When the Pizza Arrives,” and Sports Illustrated photo shoots of their clowns’ athletic achievements. Somehow the kids trust that I’m going somewhere with all this. I am: if I’ve played my cards right, all this risky play will lay the foundation for the riskier work to come in our next unit, and the one after that.

Made possible by a Summer Fellowship grant funded

by The Fund for AFS, I spent two weeks this summer at Lincoln Center’s Leadership Lab in Teaching Artistry. It was an immersive experience, spent in a cohort of 22 peer artists from varied disciplines: music, visual arts and theatre. We were all there to accomplish some very specific tasks: to clarify our individual teaching and 82 oak leaves fall/winter 2019

leadership philosophies, and to identify and assess how we wanted to improve and expand those practices. How to do this? Through clowning, we discovered.

We found that clowns are not undone by dilemma. Their intuitive response to challenge is “No problem!” Their brains are rather soft, and they tend to process slooooowwly. They do not erase themselves to do something perfectly. They enjoy being present, and they live with pleasure. Together, we examined our work as teachers and leaders through the lens of the clown, using the metaphor as a way to see goals, to make adjustments, to check in with our audiences, to delight in imperfection.

One of the central concepts our facilitator, Eric Booth, introduced was the idea of “our circles” those people we carry with us as we go on to do the work that connects us to each other. My colleagues at Lincoln Center were from all corners of the world: Australia, Peru, Canada, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Memphis, Buffalo and Chicago, among others; and I now include each of them in my circle. I thought a lot about others I carry in that circle with me: the teachers I’ve studied with, the artistfriends I’ve learned with, and the former students who continue to teach me.

I’m grateful for the circle of former AFS colleagues that have helped cultivate me as a teacher—Rita Burroughs, Mary Carpenter, Christopher Buzby and Deb Pizzi. And when I look around the circle of mischievous, hopeful clowns in my classroom this fall, I am doubly grateful for the opportunity to pay that teaching forward: to learn together how to be present, how to live joyfully, and how to face obstacles with courage. “No problem!”

Admission Open House

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Wednesday, February 5, 2020 Saturday, March 14, 2020 Call 215.576.3950 or register online at www.abingtonfriends.net/visitafs

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Alumni Day 2020 Saturday, October 3 All alumni are invited to return to campus for the events.

We will be celebrating milestone reunions for those classes ending in ’5 and ’0.

Save the Date

Class years ending in ’5 and ’0 are invited to return to reconnect at the Meetinghouse with events including an alumni Meeting for Worship, interscholastic athletic games and an evening reception in the new Richard N. Berman Athletics Center.