The Gam Summer 2017

2017 SUMMER

Falmouth Academy Celebrating 40 Years

Contents 1 First Bell 2 Up Front 4 Classroom and Beyond 8 Mariners Stars 10 Centerpiece

The Soul of Falmouth Academy

S.W.A.N.'s Song

FA Guiding Values Dear Mrs Melillo

16 Alumni News 18 Transitions 21 FA Lib

FA celebrated a soft opening of the 7,200-square-foot Simon Center for the Arts on Friday, June 2nd.

Head of School Steve Duffy assured that the first event in the new space be student centered, so the annual Talent Show (below) was the inaugural event. Student artwork was hung in the new lobby gallery.

Isabel Davern '17 (left) poses in front of her artwork in the gallery space of the new Simon Center for the Arts.

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GAM: “A social meeting of whale ships ... with all the sympathies of sailors [and] all the peculiar congenialities arising from a common pursuit.�

Falmouth Academy 7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth, MA 02540 508-457-9696 falmouthacademy.org Administration Stephen A. Duffy, Head of School Michael J. Earley, Assistant Head of School Pamela Clapp Hinkle, Director of Development Karen Loder, Director of Admission Editorial Staff Amy Galvam, Director of Communications Barbara Campbell, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Allyson Manchester, English faculty Olivia Riddiford, Office Manager Design: Julianne Waite Cover: Sarah Knowles Photos: Courtesy of Susan Moffat, Liz Lerner, Amy Galvam, Barbara Campbell, Cambridge Cambodia Project, FA archives Mission Harnessing the power of inspired learning in a world-renowned scientific and vibrant artistic community, Falmouth Academy emboldens each student to take creative and intellectual risks to confidently engage the challenges of our times.

On the cover, top to bottom: Class of 2000, Class of 1985, Class of 1986, Class of 2013.

First Bell

Not surprisingly, I’ve spent a lot of time in the past year watching the Simon Center for the Arts emerge from the cocoon of our original “cafe-gym-torium.” Considerable de-construction had to happen before we could begin creating. We needed to be assured that the foundation upon which the existing structure stands was strong enough, and additional footings and a concrete slab had to be poured to support the new construction. If the foundation was not sufficiently sturdy then everything built upon it would be precarious.

Falmouth Academy as a school offers a parallel to our Simon Center project. Forty years ago, the founding faculty established a set of curricular and community values that provided the foundation upon which the school was built. We see these guiding values reflected in our community daily, and nowhere are they embodied more than in the person of Lalise Melillo, the last of our founding faculty to teach at Falmouth Academy, whose retirement we celebrate concurrently with the fortieth anniversary of the school’s founding this year.

We see these values reflected in traditions like Senior Teaching Day and the Science Fair. We encounter them every time we attend a concert or drama production and experience the results of months of collaborative effort on the parts of faculty and student ensembles. We embrace them when we root for our athletic teams, their cooperation and selflessness, their sportsmanship and respect for each other and their opponents, their wins and losses. And we build on these values every time an innovative program takes root or a new initiative is launched, like our “Wellness for Life” program or our engineering elective.

As you page through this edition of The GAM, you’ll find that the curricular and community foundations at Falmouth Academy are sound. In our forty years we’ve solidified what we stand for. And now as we look forward to Falmouth Academy’s next forty years, we’ll continue to build. Just as with the Simon Center, some things may need to be deconstructed in order to make way for the newer and better, but that’s okay. In fact, it’s more than okay – it’s necessary. We know more than we ever have about the different ways that learning happens, how the brain works, and how the classroom environment and teachers influence students’ capacities for growth. Some of what we now know refutes or expands upon old assumptions. So as we honor our past and hold fast to our community values, we’ll also look to create new structures—real and symbolic—worthy of our foundations.

Stephen Duffy Head of School

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40 YEARS OF FA

1970s

1977-1978 Falmouth Academy is founded on February 15, 1977 and opens on September 14, 1977 with 43 students in grades 7-11. For a few days, the Falmouth Recreation Center is home before the school moves into the Woodbriar Retirement Home. Worthington Campbell is the school’s first headmaster.

1978-1979 FA moves to the Clayton E. Campbell School on Otis Air Force Base where Mrs. Melillo introduces the Hoplite Phalanx and FA’s first class graduates with seven seniors.

1979-1980 George Blackwell becomes Falmouth Academy’s second headmaster.

40 YEARS OF FA

1980s

Up Front FA at MIT Falmouth Academy sent twelve students and ten projects to the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair held on May 5th and 6th at MIT and brought home top awards. A first place prize was awarded to senior Théo Guérin and junior Charlie Fenske along with an additional prize from the MathWorks and two awards from the U.S. Air Force for their groundbreaking work on wind energy analysis. Sophomore Helena Weare of Cataumet and junior Isabelle Stewart of Pocasset were awarded a second place along with the Massachusetts Chemistry Alliance Award for their joint project testing the effects of certain chemicals on memory. Martha Clark ’18 of West Barnstable took home a second place prize for her study of the effect of temperature on the behavior of snapping shrimp. Becca Cox ’18 of Falmouth and Bishakha Oli ’19 of Plymouth each won honorable mentions for their study of environmental impacts on marine life and ecology. Nick Kania ’18 of Duxbury won a $20,000 partial scholarship to Regis College for his project on the geochemistry of bottled water.

1980-1981 Dr. Bradley leads a recorder ensemble at Victorian Night in the fall of 1980.

1981-1982 The Importance of Being Earnest is performed at Falmouth Academy. Students have performed it three times since then.

Jamey Shachoy P’13, Susan Morse (Campaign Chair and Trustee), Mark Hutker (Trustee) and Carla Hutker P’07, P’11

1982-1983 Bruce Buxton becomes fifth headmaster. Dr. Al Bradley pipes the entire school to the peak of Mt. Monadnock.

Mariners Support Ahoy, Auction!

1983-1984 Revels is performed annually by the whole school from 1980 through 1987.

The Bromley Stag Dance is performed in 1983-84 by Terri Kopp ’86, Stefan Peirson ’88, Rick Witham ’87 and Mike Ryan ’87.

1984-1985 Falmouth Academy’s first exchange students, Mats Nasmark ’85 from Sweden and Massimo Malpezzi ’86 from Italy arrive February, 1985. Mr. and Mrs. Josiah K. Lilly III donate 34 acres in Beebe Woods to FA, which becomes our permanent campus.

1985-1986 On September 20, 1986, a sign is erected on campus stating “Future Home of Falmouth Academy.” Hank Hague ’90 receives the Spontaneous Patriot Award for raising the American flag each morning.

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More than 200 friends, parents, and trustees gathered on May 6th for Falmouth Academy’s fundraiser in support of the Annual Fund. The nautically themed Ahoy, Auction! was a great success thanks to scores of donors and sponsors and the efforts of a spectacular volunteer committee led again this year by Anna dos Santos (P’16 of Andy Pritchard). Bear in Boots and the Rickard family graciously donated a delicious assortment of passed and stationary appetizers and the appropriately themed signature drink—a Dark and Stormy—was provided by the Metri family (P’19, ’22) of Portside Liquors. John Schofield P’01 once again contributed his expertise as Auctioneer, Rob Wells served as Emcee, and Julie Waite P’21 provided creative design services.

The pièce de résistance of the evening was a student-produced video organized by Ben Schwenk ’19 and Devin Waite ’19 that made a compelling case for this year’s Fund-a-Need project: bringing high-speed internet service to the school and renovating and upgrading the computer classroom. Fund-A-Need raised $30,950, and the entire auction netted nearly $65,000. We are grateful to all our donors, sponsors, volunteers and attendees for their generous support.

A Wind-Wind for Théo and Charlie at ISEF Théo Guérin ’17 and Charlie Fenske, ’18 came home winners from the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair held this year in Los Angeles. The team qualified after their first place win at the Massachusetts state fair held earlier in the month at MIT. Théo and Charlie were awarded 1st NASA special award, 2nd Engineering Mechanics Category Award, 3rd Society of Experimental Test Pilots special award. Congratulations!

Charlie Fenske ’18 and Théo Guérin ’17 won first place at the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair and advanced to the International Science and Engineering Fair.

FA Abroad Fourteen seniors and juniors, led by Frau Eder, traveled to Heidelberg, Germany, over March break as part of the German Exchange program. 2017 marks the 15th year partnering with the Hölderlin Gymnasium who visited FA in October for two weeks. FA students lived with German families, attended school and went on sightseeing tours.

Highlights included learning court etiquette in costume at the Schwetzingen summer castle of the Prince Elector Karl Theodor (1724-1799) and touring Heidelberg by Segway.

FA German Exchange in Heidelberg Germany (above) and FA students in Rome, March 2017 (below).

Math and Science Department Chair, Doug Jones, took a contingency of students to Rome over March break. Students were asked to leave their phones behind to have a truly immersive experience visiting one of the most influential cities for Western ideology, history, art and culture. Students toured the sights of Roman antiquity along with famous landmarks including the Vatican and the Trevi fountain while soaking up the modern day culture and tasting the regional cuisine.

The Most Important Meal of the Day

Thanks in part to funding from Gala, students and teachers at The Cambridge Cambodia School were able to plant a large vegetable garden in February 2017.

This year’s student-run Gala funded a seed-to-table breakfast program in Kauk Rovieng, Cambodia, through the Cambridge Cambodia School Project. The garden project not only assures better nutrition for middle schoolers in this rural region but promotes sustainability through a reliable food source. FA’s donation also provided school supplies to current students and bicycles to graduates enabling them to make the five-mile journey to continue their education at the local high school.

Samira Wolf ’18, a native of Cambodia, recalls, “When I went back to Cambodia in 2010, I thought of fundraising for these students as a way of giving back to the community from which I came.”

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40 YEARS OF FA 1986-1987 Falmouth Academy participates in the Falmouth Community Science Fair.

Ivan Dmochowski ’90 and Yuki Honjo ’90 tie for first place, junior high division, and Darrell Karbott ’88 wins first place in the senior division. Darrell competes in the International Science and Engineering Fair in 1987.

1988-1989 Thirteen students from Hölderlin Gymnasium arrive to take part in FA’s first German exchange; 12 FA students visit Heidelberg in the spring. FA holds its first Grandparents Day with 40 attending on October 21, 1988, and hosts its own Science Fair on March 17, 1989.

1980s

1987-1988 On April 19, 1988, ground is broken on the Falmouth campus.

All-School Meeting is held outside and Beth Schwarzman, trustee and former parent, is wished happy birthday and thanked for being instrumental in the capital campaign for the new building.

1989-1990 The Falmouth campus opens September 18, 1989. FA is the Town of Falmouth’s first recycling center. The Class of 1990 hosts their prom at FA with the theme,“We’ve Got Tonight.”

40 YEARS OF FA

1990s

1990-1991 FA assists the Falmouth Enterprise in getting out the news after Hurricane Bob cut power to the newspaper. FA girls varsity soccer wins the championship in its first year of SENEISSA membership. Ted Melillo ’92 wins a First Grand Award at the International Science and Engineering Fair.

1991-1992 The compost pile is built and exclusively nourishes the grounds and playing fields with 2,500 pounds a year. Ms. Elenita Muñiz and Mrs. Margaret Ellsworth establish the Small Independent Schools Art League (SISAL) juried art show featuring 70 pieces from four schools.

1992-1993 Drama tech joins the roster of electives. The first copyrighted edition of “Project Development for the Student Scientist” is published. Five international students attend FA: Oliver Lugmayer ’94 Austria, Jharana Joshee ’94 Nepal, Marine Chartois ’94 France, Roland Dieckhofer ’94 Germany, and Jozef Scesnak ’93 Slovakia.

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Classroom and Beyo Taking Up the Mantle Becky Butler ‘19

The more than 20-year-old tradition known as Senior Teaching Day began in 1995. Janet Kearsley, English teacher and Student Council advisor, mentioned the idea to the Student Council who ran with it, shaping it into a whole senior class effort. It has become a tradition eagerly awaited (though sometimes anxiously by seniors) by the FA community whereby the seniors assume the role of classroom teachers with all that entails from lesson planning to teaching. Mrs. Clark puts it best: it is “a kind of celebration of the seniors’ growing independence and an affirmation of the community’s values.”

To prepare, seniors spend part of their English classes reading previous lesson plans and feedback collected for the express purpose of communicating with future classes. Advice ranges from the humorous, “bribing with candy makes you look insecure” to the more practical, “have a really strong sense of why you’re doing what you’re doing…have a purpose!”

While seniors have been preparing, the underclassmen have been anticipating. To seventh graders the excitement is, perhaps, the greatest. The seniors are distant role models to the youngest grade, and Senior Teaching Day gives them the opportunity to interact with the mysterious creatures who make college acceptance announcements and seem at home in front of classmates in Morse Hall.

Senior Teaching Day is possible because of FA students’ desire to plunge into the world around them and their teachers’ excitement to help them do so. Senior Oliver Russell reflects back on the day and notes, “I was surprised by how difficult it was to lead a class to a certain point without spelling it out for them. They were very interested though, and brought up some wonderful points throughout.” He goes on to say, “I am so happy that FA maintains this Senior Teaching tradition. For a student like myself, one who's looking into possibly going into the field of education in the future, it has been absolutely wonderful and has given me a great opportunity to spend a day in a teacher's shoes.”

Oliver Russell ‘17 teaching 10th grade Western Civilization

nd Wellness at FA As parents can attest, life for a teenager is more complicated than it used to be.

It progresses at a faster clip and with the advent of personal pocket computers (aka smartphones) and the ubiquity of social media, teens have more access to information and to each other than ever before. It is a lot to manage. This is one of the reasons school counselor Carol DiFalco, with the support of the school administration and science teachers, decided to expand Falmouth Academy’s wellness offerings. This year, students in eighth, tenth and twelfth grade participated in a course entitled, “Wellness for Life” that met once a week to discuss developmentally appropriate health and lifestyle topics.

They were given factual information in a forum that also honored the behavioral and emotional components to help guide them in achieving a better quality of life.

FA Escape Room: An Engineering Feat Liz Klein and Scottie Mobley teamed up to lead 18 students from middle and upper school through a new yearlong engineering elective. Through trial and error using engineering principles, students solved engineering problems through hands-on exploration Connor Jones '20, Quincy Boardman '20, and and collaboration. Students started David Thieler '19 by learning about simple machines through deconstructing and repairing bicycles provided by the Falmouth Bike Lab. They progressed to using simple machines with motors in team construction of Rube Goldberg machines. The capstone project was the creation of an inescapable room tested and judged by fellow students on May 24th. The winning design, researched and executed by freshmen Connor Jones and Chandler DeBarros, was based on H.H. Holmes' infamous murder castle.

Scottie Mobley will offer the popular elective again in the fall and will keep the curriculum fresh and evolving with new design challenges. Ms. Mobley pursued and received a grant for Seaperch ROV kits and looks forward to building and learning about them with the students.

“Yes, and…”

Elisabeth Munro Ledwell, English Teacher and Drama Director In her memoir, Bossypants, Tina Fey said, “in improvisation there are no mistakes, only beautiful happy accidents. And many of the world’s greatest discoveries have been by accident.”

I couldn’t agree more. When I dug a bit deeper, however, I found that she was not the first person to spout such a philosophy. Jazz musician Miles Davis and other performing and visual artists have all expressed similar sentiments. What do all these creative, innovative people have in common? They are artists.

In a world where the word innovation often suggests new technology, you might ask, why study the ancient art of theatre? We all know that performing artists gain confidence in presenting their ideas with poise in front of an audience.

Performers are also better listeners. Performing artists, like all readers of fiction, have higher levels of empathy and tolerance.

But what does the science say? The American Alliance for Theatre and Education has compiled the findings of numerous studies and discovered that students involved in performing arts outscored non-arts students in both verbal and math SATs, no matter what their socio-economic background. Other studies found that drama improves reading comprehension, verbal and nonverbal communication skills, and school attendance. Students with learning disabilities reap the benefits of performing arts as well. Performance of Shakespeare’s texts, social scientists found, helps improve students understanding of all sorts of challenging scientific and mathematical texts.

Business leaders are beginning to catch on. A recent Forbes article by Rob Asghar highlighted the number of improvisation classes now offered in many business schools and at sciencecentered schools like MIT. Why? Studying acting teaches people to focus on the process, not the outcome and never to fear failure, a key skill needed for success in the knowledge and innovation economy. In our technology-driven modern world, face-toface communication is the first skill that students lose. Asghar suggests, “This artificiality [of interactions via technology] damages our ability to relate to real human beings in the moment. Improv [and performing, in general], drags you out of that asynchronous, virtual-reality world, and drops you into that wondrous world of high-energy, immediate [interaction].

Moreover, [it] teaches us to soften our focus and heighten our awareness so that we can respond well to surprises.” What more could an employer ask for?

When I think about how the theatre program at FA reflects these ideas, I can see these words brought to life by the students. Every day, I see students learning to take creative leaps of faith, to try on a new character, to solve a thorny relationship problem, to discover the talents that lie within. Because we run our program much like a professional repertory company, where no student is the star, but all are part of the ensemble, both onstage and backstage, our students learn that the process of the production is more important than the final product. Still, the performances are often fabulous. Students learn to say, “Yes, and . . .” rather than no.

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40 YEARS OF FA

1990s

1993-1994 Jozef Scesnak ’93, State Science Fair winner, and Mr. Jim Mardulier are featured on a WCVB-TV program exploring science fairs. Mr. Peter Conzett and Bill Johnson ’94 build FA’s first Harkness table. Boys varsity lacrosse has an undefeated season. For the third time in five years, girls varsity soccer wins the league championship.

1994-1995 Senior Teaching Day debuts with the Class of 1995.

1995-1996 Student Council introduces Gala with proceeds benefitting Hospice of Cape Cod. The National Honor Society begins the Hugs and Kisses scholarship program.

Mentor (n.)

Fifteen to twenty motivated Falmouth Academy high school students carry out their science experiments in professional labs in Woods Hole each year. FA’s science teachers strategically match students with mentors doing related research. In recent years, students have been fortunate to conduct their experiments in labs at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Sea Education Association (SEA) and the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC).

1996-1997 Seniors teach electives with Jerrell Williams ’97 offering Creative Writing and Jenn Malaquias ’97 and Melissa Beninghof ’97 teaching aerobics.

Construction of the gym begins.

1997-1998 Sarah Beninghof ’98 upsets the 1962 Cape & Islands high school basketball scoring record reaching a career-high of 1,594 points. Juniors Seth Ament ’99 and Leigh Shapiro ’99 are lead authors of a report written under the mentorship of an MBL scientist and appear in the scientific journal, Biological Bulletin.

1998-1999 Mr. Bruce Buxton wins the grand prize from Random House/ Webster for a new entry in the dictionary with his submission of “Uniquack,” which means whatever everyone agrees is important at the moment. Seven FA athletes make the Cape Cod Times’ all-star lacrosse team.

1999-2000 The Class of 2000 incorporates peer references in their graduation ceremony. Jodi Kopke ’92 is the first to enter the FA Athletic Hall of Fame.

40 YEARS OF FA

2000s

Juniors Martha Clark and Rebecca Cox are two students who worked in labs this year and qualified to present their work at the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair held at MIT in May where Martha was awarded a second place prize and Becca received an Honorable Mention.

Dr. Alison Ament, Science Teacher

2000-2001 Rob Mermin, former student of Mrs. Melillo and founder of Circus Smirkus, is artist-in-residence for the senior Rhetoric class. Inspired by working with Mr. Mermin, the seniors choose the theme, Cirque des Seniors for Spirit Week.

2001-2002 Discovery Young Scientist Challenge finalist Hillary Giacomelli ’06 wins the opportunity to have an asteroid named after herself and her science teacher, Audrey Meyer. The Class of 2002 trades 5,000 hours of community service to hold its prom at Historic Highfield Hall.

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Martha Clark, 2017 MA State Science & Engineering Fair

I

arrived at my first experience with a mentor at WHOI, in ninth grade, fairly intimidated by the idea of working in a professional scientific environment. Prior to ninth grade, a microscope was the most advanced piece of scientific equipment I’d ever used. My fears were quickly put to rest by my mentor, Dr. Carly Buchwald. She was supportive and enthusiastic and gladly humored my inexperience. With Dr. Buchwald’s guidance, I designed a project which enabled me to gain a first-hand perspective into the natural cycles at work everywhere in the surrounding world. What I had access to as a ninth grader was incredible.

In tenth grade, I worked on a new project at Sea Education Association (SEA) under the guidance of Dr. Kara Law and Ms. Jessica Donohue. At SEA, I studied the microplastic ingestion of a local oyster species. While both of my mentors were eager to help me conduct my experiment, they gave me a substantial degree of independence in developing my project. Their guidance allowed me to take initiative in conducting scientific research. I found that mentorship enabled me to develop not only my skills in science, but also my ability to communicate with adults. To ascertain the best chemical for dissolving oysters, I made my first conference call. To acquire local oysters, I had to reach out to a local oyster farmer.

Rather than work in a traditional lab space for my eleventh grade experiment, I returned to WHOI and performed my project in a greenhouse-like structure working with a group of three scientists, Dr. Aran Mooney, Dr. Ashlee Lillis, and Ms. Jessica Perelman. In setting up my experiment, which tested the effects of temperature on snapping shrimp behavior, we had to start from scratch. With the extremely generous help and guidance of Ms. Perelman, I was able to construct the water heating and circulation systems that, in a different setting, I would have taken for granted. With my mentors’ support and enthusiasm, this work did not feel like a burden. Rather, my science experiment felt like a dynamic, exciting exploration of science’s possibilities, in which trial and error were opportunities for improvement rather than road blocks.

Through discussions and meetings with my mentors, I was able to approach science through the eyes of a professional scientist.

Seeing and experiencing almost every aspect of the experimental process— from unpredictable heating systems to unexpected shrimp fatalities—allowed me to gain a new appreciation for the work and creativity that goes into professional science.

Talking with students from other schools at the regional science fair reinforced how unique and invaluable my mentorship experiences have been.

Becca Cox and Dr. Roxanne Beinart, Edgcomb Laboratory WHOI

D

r. Ament introduced me to Roxanne Beinart, a postdoctoral investigator at WHOI, during my sophomore year when I was looking to work in a lab. I didn’t know then that this would become such a formative and lasting working relationship.

Roxanne wanted my first lab-based project to have real-world application, which made the entire experience even more immersive into the work of science outside of school. I was seeking answers to questions professional scientists were asking.

After completing my experiment and presenting at the science fair, I was encouraged to expand on my research and was offered time in the lab through the summer which has continued through this school year.

During that first summer, I felt part of the life of the lab working alongside esteemed microbiologists from all over the world.

One of the scientists even went out of his way to attend the F.A. science fair the following February just to cheer me on.

Over time, as my skill and scientific knowledge increased, I was invited to assist the scientists with their experimentation such as developing the cultures of locally found ciliates and transferring fungi samples, all while continuing my own study of symbiosis between organisms.

My time in the lab has been a priceless experience and has taught me innumerable skills beyond scientific experimentation. I did learn how to isolate and analyze DNA, utilize online genomic databases, use evolutionary analysis programs and even dabble in computer programming but I also learned how to take initiative, present my ideas, manage my time, not give up, ask for help and see myself as a fledgling scientist with something real and valuable to contribute. It was this last lesson brought home to me repeatedly through word and deed by Roxanne, my mentor. She did so much more than help me through my science project – she opened up my worldview and helped me imagine what was possible and beautiful.

Rebecca Cox ’18

Martha Clark ’18 The

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40 YEARS OF FA 2002-2003 Both girls and boys soccer teams win SENEISSA championships.

While on the German Exchange, three FA girls help Hölderlin Gymnasium take 2nd in the soccer invitational Bunsen Cup.

2000s

2003-2004 Katie Palmer ’05 breaks 1,000 points in basketball. The ROV team (Joey Smith ’04, Mike Kowalski ’04, Rachel Allen ’04 and Oliver Moore ’04) win second place in the regionals, qualifying for national finals in California.

2004-2005 Bruce and Patrice Buxton retire from Falmouth Academy and David Faus becomes the sixth headmaster.

We welcome our 56th exchange student from the 22nd country; students include Alicia von Lenthe Campos ’06 Germany, Miroslava Barnova ’05 Slovakia, and Ruba Kadhim Ali ’06 Iraq.

2005-2006 Construction begins on a new wing for art rooms, science labs, and the Buxton Library. The Science Fair features ten alumni judges. Student actors perform Pippin, FA’s first fulllength musical.

2006-2007 Falmouth Academy raises the first wind turbine in Falmouth. Six members of the Class of 2006 are designated as national scholars by the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board. Paul Heslinga ’07 is selected as a semifinalist in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

2009-2010 Mr. Peter Conzett (the Susan Lucci of Marconi) wins his first sand sculpture contest with his co-leader, Dr. Petra Ehrenbrink. The women’s division of U.S. Lacrosse names three FA students (Alexandra Gundersen ’09, Elin Nelson ’08 and Hannah Allen ’09) as All-Americans for their lacrosse expertise, academic excellence and sportsmanship.

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Rob Wells, Director of Athletics

As I write, the Boston Globe rankings for girls high school lacrosse are just out for the week of May 1st; the Lady Mariners are there at number sixteen, marking their first ever appearance in the Globe Top Twenty for Lacrosse. Over the winter, the FA girls basketball team consistently cracked the Globe’s weekly Top Twenty, polling as high as thirteenth. These rankings are for all high schools in Massachusetts, regardless of size. When I consider that I can remember when FA first decided to offer girls lacrosse and our first girls basketball team practicing at 6:30 in the morning at the Lyle School on Otis Air Force Base in 1988, I think I must be dreaming. Look what you started, Coach Maggie Nunes and Coach Bill Watson, our first girls lacrosse and girls basketball coaches, respectively.

Such athletic success and notoriety would have seemed unthinkable then, as would much of the reality of Mariner athletics today. Our teams compete in the public school athletic world of the MIAA and we are pillar members of the

Highlights

2008-2009 Mr. Richard Sperduto is named an Environmental Champion by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. The Associated German Societies of New England name Dr. Petra Ehrenbrink one of its two German Educators of the Year.

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2007-2008 Maia ten Brink ’09 reads her poem, “After the Telephone Call from the International Space Station to the Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin” at a reception for NASA astronaut, Sunni Williams. FA hosts its first Small Schools Conference.

Matt Pickart ’08 is selected as the MA representative to the U.S. Stockholm Water Prize and is a finalist in the National Intel Science Talent Search Competition.

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Every year since FA joined the Cape & Islands League in 2014, the Girls’ MVP award in soccer, basketball and lacrosse has gone to FA players Jane Earley ’18 & Kendall Currence ’18 are recruited for Division I Colleges for lacrosse and basketball respectively – a first for FA athletics

Soccer

MIAA Division 4 Quarterfinalists Eliza Van Voorhis ’17 Cape & Islands MVP for third straight year Eliza Van Voorhis ’17 set FA girls’ career scoring record with 107 goals (35 this season) Eliza Van Voorhis ’17, Kendall Currence ’18 and Brooke Feldott ’19 named to the All-League Team

reconstituted Cape and Islands League. In our three years in the league, FA teams have captured five league titles, and we have cause to hope for more this spring. Since joining the league, an FA student-athlete has been named league MVP for girls soccer, girls basketball, and girls lacrosse every season. This year’s girls basketball team featured two 1,000 career point scorers playing alongside one another. Our teams routinely qualify for Massachusetts State Championship tournaments and make fairly deep runs. I could go on and on, but the picture is clear; these are special times for FA athletics, and we have much to celebrate.

And yes, it is all pretty amazing!

Yet, in the most important ways, the athletic program at Falmouth Academy has not changed fundamentally. Much would be completely familiar to alumni from earlier FA teams. Practices still happen at the end of the school day and are led, with very few exceptions, by FA teacher-coaches. Close to half of all students participate in athletics, and no one is cut from the chance to be on a team. The rosters of our championship teams are populated with Science Fair winners, chorus singers, musicians, prizewinning artists, and above all, with engaged students. Were one to cross reference FA’s athletic rosters with the school’s Head

Making Basketball

of School List for academic achievement, the overlap would be considerable. FA teams also continue to be recognized for outstanding sportsmanship, earning three such awards from regional referee’s associations over the past two years.

So, while we are in the midst of enjoying true glory days in athletics, we continue to attain this success our way, and we are mindful to define that success on our terms. FA’s recent stellar athletic accomplishments are a tribute to what true studentathletes, guided by experienced and caring coaching, can achieve with a sense of shared purpose, committed involvement, and a tradition of wide-ranging success. FA is fortunate to have outstanding athletic facilities, coaches who know the school and their respective sports, and a student body that embraces the Renaissance belief of excellence in a range of human pursuits including athletics. What is new is that the wider world is taking more notice. Maybe these laurels aren’t that surprising, though they certainly are sweet to cherish.

HERStory

Cape & Islands League Champs 3 years in a row (co-champions in year one) MIAA Division 4 Semi-finalists in South State Tournament – 3rd time in a row Sportsmanship Award from Board 152, International Association of Approved Basketball Officials Eliza Van Voorhis ’17 scores her 1,000th point Kendall Currence ’18 named to the Boston Globe 2017 AllScholastics team Kendall Currence ’18 Cape & Islands League MVP for third straight year Eliza Van Voorhis ’17, Kendall Currence ’18 and Jane Earley ’18 named to All-League Team

Lacrosse

Have NEVER lost a Cape & Island League Game Undefeated in regular season 3 years in a row Cape & Islands League Champs 3 years in a row Jane Earley ’18 scored her 300th goal (120 in this season) Jane Earley ’18 played on lower NE team at the US Lacrosse Women's National tournament Jane Earley ’18 Cape & Islands League MVP for third straight year Eliza Van Voorhis ’17, Jane Earley ’18, Brooke Feldott ’19 and Ainsley Ramsey ’20 named to the All-League Team

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Centerpiece

The Soul of Falmouth Academy Barbara Campbell, Director of Alumni

and Parent Relations

In early March, I stood next to Dave Tamasi ’90 at an alumni event in Washington. As I was announcing the quarterly scores from Twitter of the girls' district quarterfinal basketball game, I came across a photo of Eliza Van Voorhis ’17 when she earned her 1,000th point. I thought it was delightful that Dave, who was the first FA student to join the Cape & Islands 1,000 point club, was cheering on our newest member and her teammates – 27 years after he played for FA. As founding faculty retire and our campus becomes more impressive, the culture is a constant. As former Head Dave Faus once told me, “The physical plant may change, but the soul remains the same.”

After re-reading hundreds of old issues of The GAM, reviewing notes I’d received from alumni and remembering conversations shared with teachers and parents, I realized that the soul of Falmouth Academy – that magic that alumni continue to treasure years after they leave – boils down to community, confidence and character.

Community At the 35th anniversary celebration of Falmouth Academy, long-time English teacher Monica Hough said, “To join the FA community means to breathe in this rarefied air of imagination, rigorous intellectualism, and generosity. We become inspired by each other’s strengths and talents. We aspire to inspire in our turn. The founding faculty knew what they were doing when they created this atmosphere of inspiration. We honor them best by breathing it in.”

In addition to respect as a matter of course, a shared, central curriculum knits the students together. For example when it’s time for the Athens/Sparta debate, in which all 9th graders take part, upperclassmen exuberantly cheer on their former team. It’s not uncommon at All-School Meeting for shouts of “Athens!” or “Sparta!” from the upper grades to precede the announcement of the winners. (Athens won this year, by the way.)

In an alumni survey, a respondent said one of the reasons the Falmouth Academy experience resonated was that “The teachers’ generosity spreads to the whole community so that almost immediately 7th graders understand the culture of the school and what it means to be a good student and a good citizen.”

Posted in the Rhetoric classroom is the acronym S.W.A.N.S., developed by students as a reminder of the way they are to treat 10

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each other. Wanting everyone to feel successful, students believe in SWANS – Safe With Absolutely No Slander, an attitude they strive to practice in all of their classes, in the hallways, and on the field and stage.

Former Head Bruce Buxton wrote in a 1997 GAM, “In a school, the necessary linchpin for morality is mutual respect, a steadfast, iron-willed, aggressive respect which adults model daily. Cultures work because courageous people focus on what binds them together, not on what divides them.”

During an Alumni Day conversation, Phoebe (Congalton) Morad ’95 spoke about Falmouth Academy’s “No Back Rows” philosophy. By participating in the roundtable atmosphere in every class, she said everyone learned to be a teacher. “A good teacher interacts with people. Just being a good citizen, being a good member of the community is all about knowing how to interact with each other.”

Confidence Lalise Melillo, who is retiring this year after teaching at Falmouth Academy since it began, habitually has conversations with her former students when they return as alumni. Over the years, she has saved quotations that meaningfully detail the soul of FA. She related the following gem she received while talking with alumni from the Class of 2010. They told her, “The teachers are invested in the students’ welfare far beyond the classroom. We know that they really care, and this gives us a confidence that we take with us after we leave.”

As a result of her many discussions with alumni over the years, Mrs. Melillo said, “I have heard countless times that our students carry our narrative with them, using it as a touchstone and a source of inner confidence even when they enter settings that are less nurturing.”

At an Alumni Day panel on teaching, Ben Gregg ’90, now Director of Academic Studies at Walnut Hill School said, “When I was in Mr. Wells’ 9th grade history class, I realized I wanted to be a teacher and thought, wow, what a cool thing to be able to do. I discovered that I couldn’t be Mr. Wells, Mrs. Melillo, Mr. Conzett, or Mr. Buxton. I tried my best – and even own several fountain pens. You have to take the natural instincts that are here and rediscover them in your own way. Slowly but surely the instincts and skills that you’ve learned bubble up and become your own.”

Character Each year, a valedictorian speaks for the seniors and the school, and always these speakers recognize the ways in which FA shapes a student’s character.

At the 2007 graduation, Ben Mann ’07 talked eloquently about the shared experiences at Falmouth Academy, which serve as a springboard for students to explore their individuality.

Likening these experiences to playing jazz, Mann, who previously worked as a software engineer for Google and has joined OpenAI, a start-up company, said in his valedictory speech, “We’ve been improving our old roles and adopting new ones. But at the same time, we’re waiting in the wings. Here, we’ve learned our parts – the written scores – and now we’re ready to play for an audience. There will be room for solos and improvisation, group work – you name it, we’re ready.”

When Liddy Detar ’87 received her Ph.D. in Literature and Women’s Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, she wrote, “I wanted to express my gratitude to Falmouth Academy. UCSC certainly cannot take full credit for the accomplishment of my Ph.D.; the foundation was established at FA, and its values, which I grew to embrace, have had enormous influence on my personal and intellectual life.”

For 40 years, the essence of Falmouth Academy has remained the same. It is the invisible spirit that weaves generations of alumni and students together. It is a generous culture that has meandered down the hallways of Woodbriar, in and out of the gopher holes of the Campbell School and through the stairwells of the Falmouth campus. It has wrapped its arms in a solid hug around every student who entered our doors – whether or not they graduated from FA. The soul of Falmouth Academy is the confidence, character and sense of community each student takes with them when they leave.

FA Guiding Values Adopted 2017

We value the beauty of knowledge and the joy of conversation.

We value collaboration and generosity of spirit.

We value the power of a culture of kindness.

We value relationships built on trust, respect, and direct communication.

We value the wonder of imagination.

We value each student’s pursuit of diverse challenges and opportunities.

We value teachers as models of confident, rich adulthood.

The process of articulating our guiding values really began during the redrafting of our mission statement in 2014. Tasked with stating why Falmouth Academy exists in a concise way, that early group did its due diligence and gathered a huge amount of information to inform the final product. They examined our school community in detail and consulted with

all of our constituencies. Inevitably, much of the background information collected wound up on the cutting room floor.

However it has served to inform our working group in drafting the guiding values. We had the pleasure of making explicit some of the critical elements of our school culture, how we live and work together.

Mike Earley, Assistant Head of School

Committee Members: Barbara Campbell, Eleanor Clark, Carol DiFalco, Lalise Melillo, Colin O’Brien, Julie Swanbeck, and Rob Wells The

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S.W. A.N.'s Song Bridget Miskell ‘07

Mrs. Melillo perfected the art of asking questions that pushed us as students, but we have rarely had the opportunity to hear from her so I agreed to take on the unique challenge of interviewing Mrs. Melillo. We discussed what makes Falmouth Academy special and why it has been her home for the last 40 years. I fished for her top “Hall of Fame” projects (with no luck!) and found myself wishing I could be back in the classroom, diving into a new text in *R&P. Bridget: What first brought you to Falmouth Academy? Why did you stay?

Mrs. Melillo: I taught for many years in Connecticut and I loved public school teaching. When Jerry and I first moved to Falmouth, I met with the Chair of the English Department at Falmouth High School thinking that when Ted was a little older I would pick up again as a public school teacher. But then FA was starting up, and my dear friend Olivann Hobbie was planning to teach there and to serve as Assistant Head. In addition, I met Worth Campbell, who was to be the Head of School, and I admired him immediately. I agreed to teach if they could schedule me around Ted’s nursery school, and they did.

Olivann, Deborah Bradley and I started part-time in the fall of 1977, and the next year Julie Taylor, Janet Kearsley, and Nancy Twichell joined us. By that time, I loved my colleagues as well as the adventure to which we had committed ourselves. We had a spirit of adventure and a feeling that we were in a position to help create something special. The school offered me a chance to do what I loved and to invent new techniques that were appropriate for a small setting. I could take what I had developed in my earlier years of teaching and apply it freshly.

Bridget: How have Falmouth Academy’s core values been established and developed?

Mrs. Melillo: From the beginning, FA was a place where small class sizes, high expectations, and an atmosphere of trust and caring provided the conditions for a really exceptional learning experience. The work of teachers was honored, and that has always been a hallmark of the school. Because we have had a faculty who are not only skilled and dedicated, but also comfortable with adulthood, the students have had models for these qualities. This is one reason that our students think of teaching as something admirable. In addition, FA has an unusual balance between a core curriculum and a tremendous freedom for teachers to design courses within this clear framework.

Bridget: How have these values sustained the school?

Mrs. Melillo: The students are at the center of our work, but we recognize that it’s the art of teaching that brings out the best in them.

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Bridget: How have you built on the FA values in your teaching?

Mrs. Melillo: With any class that you teach, you establish from the very first day a tone, which is the key in a class and a school.

You signal that the students will respect each other and will regard the work of the course as purposeful. In addition, you make it very clear that they can trust you to prepare meaningful lessons, to assess their work carefully and fairly, and to dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to their success. You build toward being able to treat them as colleagues, capable of doing independently the things that you have modeled in the classroom and that they have begun to model for each other.

One of the joys of teaching involves drawing students into the teaching process, allowing them to learn in new ways and to develop the frameworks and skills for making choices as they prepare to teach themselves and to share their learning with others. One of the most important jobs that a teacher has is to enlarge the students’ sense of what might be of interest to them, to give them a much broader foundation for making choices.

Bridget: Do you have a favorite FA tradition?

Mrs. Melillo: I would say broadly that it’s a tradition at FA for teachers and students to treat each other with kindness and respect. But if I had to be more specific I would single out the Peer Reference Project. This tradition began with the Class of 1990, but we formalized it with the Class of 1994, and it eventually became the focus of Graduation with the Class of 2000. With the writing and the sharing of peer references among the seniors and then the presentation of parts of these lively and

eloquent essays to the audience at graduation, there are many layers to the experience. Each step reflects the values of FA. Bridget: You’ve said before that what stands out to you about FA is that “students can be scholars together.” What does this mean to you?

Mrs. Melillo: This doesn’t happen randomly. It is built into the curriculum and into the way teachers bring together diverse groups of students who share experiences and who learn to do significant work both individually and together.

Bridget: I have seen you bring excitement and engagement out of a such a range of students – from the most driven to the least interested. How do you teach to the spectrum, even in such small classes?

Mrs. Melillo: This has been one of my missions and my delights – to teach to everyone. Part of the job of the teacher is to figure out what the best self and scholar are for each student, to give them things to do that will help them discover those qualities, to support them totally in this process of discovery, and then when they have inevitable success, to narrate that success back to them in a way that allows them to take the story with them for the rest of their lives. But you can’t do this in an artificial way. You, the teacher, have to believe it. FA makes it possible for teachers to have this belief, because with small classes we can give students both the challenges and the support that make the process possible. This is the heart of what I do.

Bridget: What makes for a good entry into the Mrs. Melillo “Hall of Fame”?

Mrs. Melillo: The funny thing is that if I look back at my “Hall of Fame” files, they include examples from hundreds of students.

I could name a Hall of Fame project for just about everyone I’ve ever taught, and my job is to make sure that every student has the chance and the encouragement to do something memorable.

Bridget: The R&P speech teaching project remains the most memorable assignment of my FA career. How does that launch students into the world?

Mrs. Melillo: The students could say it better than I can. They say that it transforms their lives because the things they have to learn in order to carry out that project are in some respects more challenging, nuanced, and even more broadly valuable than the skills they need if they are being asked only to present as lecturers. They have to work with a group of people in a way that leads that group to some recognition—that a-ha moment—not only through the presentation mode but through the discursive mode. They are running a class session with all the variables that involves: clarifying goals, dealing with unpredictability, thinking on your feet, planning and sequencing questions, and needing to provide direction while also allowing for individual viewpoints.

Those are very sophisticated skills that help train students to be leaders.

Bridget: What skills and tools do you hope students have developed when they leave your class?

Mrs. Melillo: Thinking, writing, speaking, and being able to lead each of these three activities with other people in a significant way.

Bridget: As the students, building, teachers and traditions change, what do you hope to see remain at the core of FA? Mrs. Melillo: I hope that FA will keep, at its core, a sense of zest and playfulness about the life of the mind; a tone of genuine warmth – low on biting banter, high on hugs and hilarity; respect and trust between teachers and among teachers and students; a daring willingness to go beyond formulas; and the recognition that what FA does is quite singular. This is a school where talented students do remarkable things but also where snobbish hierarchies are minimized, not only in academic courses but also in our electives and activities. We are boldly inclusive, and this works because of the deep dedication of students and teachers to each other in this adventure that is the teaching and learning process.

S.W.A.N.S., an acronym developed by students and posted in Mrs. Melillo’s Rhetoric classroom stands for Safe With Absolutely No Slander *R& P - Rhetoric and Persuasion, a senior class designed and taught by Lalise Melillo The

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Dear Mrs. Melillo er the ideas of h people and in and I'm forever in d o go e sees th iring Mrs. Melillo ingly positive, she is insp a curious, az ath to being m p A y . m ice to n o t en students y years of serv e an couragem m en as er h ve r ga fo l y she d as on gratefu e are so luck to be counte W d . u er ro k p in m th I' and t public critical ity as she did Melillo, I am a confiden n u m m co ways the FA Mrs. Jeopardy ; I al w and . Because of at ts r en te d et u b st ch er of h the la so mu as not above thought g with being w n g o in al k e er k th t ea sp er ean my friends ev agna Carta m know that M liam the Conqueror than ment. You deserve it.

Wil azing retire more about u have an am ’05 yo e p o h I .

Tony Bowen possible

PRAISE CARDS Lalise Melillo asks her Rhetoric students to write a note of praise about each of their classmates. At the end of the year, she presents each of them with a collection of personalized cards to take with them to college. She instructs them to take them out and read over them when they’re homesick, discouraged or reminiscent. When Mrs. Melillo announced her retirement, the Alumni Council had the inspired idea to ask alumni to write praise cards to Mrs. Melillo, to accompany her on her next big adventure. Included are just a few examples of the heartfelt things alumni have shared with Lalise Melillo.

I want to sen d yo me—and, per u my deepest thanks fo rw hap excitement an s more importantly, ho hat you've taught w you taugh d love of his t me. tory the classroom , serving as an and literature was conta Your gious in about ideas. ea rl y example You treated yo ur students as of an adult passionate journey alon gside you; nev mature youn g adults on a er minds. I con sider you a m condescending toward s our untrain entor and dea sharing your ed r friend. Than talents with me so gener k you for ously.

Dove Helena

Pedlosky ’97

to e for ted m ou wanted s u b u y d o n e y hall oric a ecaus study out of it b ade Rhet ld still e d a r way You m 8th g I wou th or e talk my rsuasion. ents and 7 n i d e m stu yp let time ’06 One hing. You ning in m for many uld. nald o D s o o t c s s c e a M som e the rea vorite cla R+P if I Peter v a obser sion the f yday, with r a Persu y day, eve m t r a st Writing has never been my job, and yet I've needed to write for every job. I've had to write for interviews, for product descriptions, for presentations, and for reviews. I've written about tea, about software development, about Buddhism, and about myself. Each and every time, I'm reminded of the power of the written word when used in a balanced, kind, and skillful way. This ability to compose thoughts and emotions into paragraphs has given me opportunities I never would have expected. I have Mrs. Melillo to thank for this subtle skill. Her kind instruction, objective analysis, and enthusiasm for well-written prose has quite literally changed my life for the better.

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Payton Swick ’98

me how to acher and taught te ic or et rh g in e that I use an amaz ve me confidenc ga Mrs. Melillo was d an e, lif in d always had so class, an y to day life. She speak up during da y m d an s se as us something ge cl so eager to teach today in my colle as w d an s se as cl in much enthusiasm issed! will be greatly m e Sh . ay yd er new ev DeMello ’15 Mimi Feldmann-

Dear M rs. passion Melillo, the life for your energy t s h you. I w ill alway tudents has insp at flows throug s remem h you an ired me valedicto be sin dy r week be ian speech on " r so vividly wor ce the moment our serious fore gra k I met in g w ith pla du more im portantly ation. The trick y" at your hous you on my ed of have help th ed me su e confidence y the trade you g uring the forever ave me t o c u c e h e e d in lped gr he someon ateful And for t many situation me instill in m n, but s since, e who h hat matt y self, an as er you hav e. I aspir embodied "ser , I do not think d I will be iou e I work ev ery day. to exude even 1 s play" in their have ever met I wish y /10th of e veryday ou all th e best. Th the passion you life as br anks for everythin ing to g!

Caroline Cotto ’1 0 y, a dem Aca uth mo Fal of it spir the me for ent res rep Dear Lalise, you munity , creating a classroom and com paragon of female leadership fun, of se iasm, eccentricity, a sen that supports unabashed enthus nity mu com ding all members of the and love of learning while hol n an bee 've You rt. ect, care, and effo to the highest standards of resp your g nin ope ays alw , and friend to me incredible mentor, neighbor, ly tru I at wh but – my endeavors door and excited to hear about and ng was your ability to extend chi tea r you ut have admired abo as ool sch ut abo zy cra as en't who wer include that to even students bug al tration with the mechanic I was. I remember your demons t, you promised to set us uprigh how upside down on the table, and by d war for that would propel us wind us up, and teach us skills who other. You are a rare educator the of putting one foot in front can teach her students a growth mindset, a set of tough expectations for themselves, and a love of deep thinking and obser vation that is life-enriching, not just grade-boosting. Every time I sit in on a psychology or education seminar about the impo rtance of teachers instilling self-efficacy, high standards, and a feelin g of belonging in students, I want to chime in that Lalise Melillo can teach us all how to be that kind of educator. I wish you a joyou s and relaxing retirement, though I know you'll continue to move and improve everyone around you.

Sending you love and hugs from California, Maia ten Brink ’09

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Alumni News Terri Kopp ’86 wrote four episodes, and was the consulting producer on seven, of the new television show, “Rebel,” which premiered on BET in March. The show examines the conflicted relationship that officers of color have with their jobs. A playby-the-rules officer, Rebecca “Rebel” Cole becomes disillusioned when her brother is slain and she becomes caught between family loyalty and her police fraternity.

The Small Business Administration has selected McLane Research Laboratories, Inc. as 2017 Exporter of the Year for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. McLane, whose Chief Operating Officer is Yuki Honjo ’90, is a Falmouth Academy Science Fair sponsor and a small high tech manufacturing oceanographic company that builds in-situ time series robots for research in some of the most challenging aquatic environments on Earth. Yuki spoke recently at a Cape Cod Technology Council meeting on the importance of teamwork and collaboration between industry and academia in furthering advances in Ocean Sciences. Research in the ocean has immense and unique challenges, and Yuki’s talk touched on the turning points in technology that have changed the way we see the world today.

Congratulations to David Tamasi ’90 who was promoted to the role of managing director of Rasky Partners in Washington, D.C. It may not be published until 2018, but it’s never too soon to be excited for Michael Taylor ’90 whose book, The Financial Rules for New College Graduates, will come out then. He runs a group on Facebook called Bankers Anonymous that posts interesting and smart pieces on financial tips and trends.

We are sad to report that Sarah (Chalmers) Grayson ’92 passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 43. She moved to Falmouth when she was 12, and attended Falmouth Academy before graduating from Brewster Academy.

After living in Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, she moved back to Falmouth before marrying Edward (Ted) Grayson Jr. in 2004. Sarah was a lifelong member of the Quissett Yacht Club. She was involved with the Junior Sailing Program and was a member of the Quissett Harbor House Land Trust, the Quamquissett Beach Club, and the Woods Hole Golf Club. Sarah and Ted have three children Jancy 11, Isabelle 8, and Hunter 5.

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Ted Melillo ’92, his wife Nina and their three-year old son Simon will take a one-year leave from Amherst College to spend the 2017-18 academic year in Hawai'i thanks to a New Directions Fellowship from the Mellon Foundation. “I will be doing intensive coursework in Hawaiian so that I can eventually research Hawaiian-language newspapers from the nineteenth century.” Ted is especially interested in the comings and goings of Kanacka Māoli (Native Hawaiian) mariners who came to New England during the whaling era.

Anna Liza Villard Howe ’97, a lieutenant in the NOAA Corp., is currently teaching at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. She and her husband, Timothy Michaud, have a 16-month old son named Jonathan Michaud-Villard.

In October Seth Ament ’99 and his wife Natalia Skolnik moved from the West Coast to Maryland where he is a tenure track Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Seth has appointments as a Faculty Member in the Institute for Genome Sciences and the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. His most recent research has focused on genetic factors in bipolar disorder. He and his wife have a 22-month old daughter, Annabelle, and a new baby Devyn, born in March 2017.

Jeremy Gantz ’00 is the editor of a book that was published this winter, The Age of Inequality: Corporate America’s War on Working People. In 1977, the same year Falmouth Academy was established, the richest one percent controlled 25 percent of America’s wealth. Today it’s 40 percent, and the richest one-tenth of 1 percent have as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent.

Launched in Chicago in 1976, the muckraking, progressive magazine In These Times, of which Jeremy was an editor, has been tracking this history through reporting and analysis. This book tells the story from Reaganomics to the precarious sharing economy, as well as intermittent movements to stem the tide, from the Seattle global among many others. A review said, “The Age of Inequality will be the definitive account of one of the defining issues of our time.”

Nell (Ament) Hiller ’00 is a government lawyer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of Legislation in Washington, DC. She is the director of the Medicare Parts C and D Analysis Group. This group provides advice to Congress on how proposed new legislation will fit with current policy. She and her husband Aaron have two sons, Joey (5) and Alex (2).

Mia Mitchell ’06 and her husband Ravi Kumar were listed

by Forbes Magazine as one of their Nepal 30 Under 30 for co-founding Code for Nepal, an organization aimed at increasing digital literacy and use of big data in the country. They launched the web site nepalmap.org to make data on the country more accessible. Mia works on foreign assistance in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Ravi is a lead digital strategist at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. He has helped to rebuild more than 25 schools in the country’s remote villages.

Morgan West ’09 LM, CPM, a California-licensed midwife, opened Hummingbird Midwifery, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan earned a B.S. in Neuroscience from Lafayette College, and studied maternal and child healthcare in seven countries and received training as a midwife at a highvolume birth center in Indonesia.

Graham Littlehale ’13 was selected to be a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan with high honors this spring.

Mimi Feldmann-DeMello ’15, who attends Whitman College, will intern for Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) in Washington, D.C. this summer. In the fall, she will study European Union politics in Freiburg, Germany.

Congratulations to the following who received academic recognition from their colleges: Alexandra Good ’13, University of Delaware; Nicolas Pingal ’16, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Jillian Schwartz ’15, Emerson College; Claire Martin ’15, Bridgewater State University; Christie Lee Brake ’16 and Betsy Wadman ’13, Marist College.

Congratulations to Stephanie (Pommrehn) Marshall ’07 who was promoted to Vice President at BlackRock in London. A global leader in investment management, BlackRock offered Stephanie a position in 2011 in their Graduate Program upon her graduation from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

After a year working in Edinburgh, Stephanie transferred to London where she rose to Associate. Stephanie leads a team of 21 who provide client service throughout Europe to financial institutions that use BlackRock’s investment technology.

Stephanie and her husband Matthew live in London where they are expecting their first child.

Congratulations to Ana and Evan Hutker ’07 who welcomed daughter Emma Swift Hutker in the fall.

Rosie Gray ’08 moved from covering the political scene for Buzzfeed to The Atlantic where she was assigned to be a White House Correspondent. In a press release, politics & policy editor Yoni Appelbaum noted, “Rosie is a force of nature—an absolutely tenacious and fearless reporter with a knack for spotting stories, and an uncanny ability to bring her subjects to life. This is a role for which she’s ideally suited.”

It’s always fun to visit alumni in Washington, D.C. and this year was no exception. Head of School Steve Duffy and Alumni Director Barbara Campbell met with a group of alumni who ranged from the Class of 1990 to the Class of 2015. It was really rewarding to report the scores of the Girls Basketball League quarterfinal game in the midst of discussing political assignments, social work, internships, and rambling down Memory Lane. In the photo are (first row) Tony Bowen ’05, Kate O’Reagan ’06, Bridget Miskell ’07, Tori Avis ’15; (second row) Bob Schneider ’09, Ben Baum ’99, Dave Tamasi ’90, Michael Best ’95, James Reber ’09, Liz Cookson ’08 and Steve Duffy. Jen Spencer ’99 joined us later.

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40 YEARS OF FA 2010-2011 The Peer Mediators Group (Peer Ambassadors) is established. Falmouth Academy students win 28 awards from the Boston Globe Scholastic Arts competition.

2010s

2011- 2012 Thomas Aviles ’12 is the highest scoring boy basketball player in Falmouth Academy history with 1,121 points, breaking the previous record set by David Tamasi ’90 of 1,117 points. A student trip to Cuba is led by Ms. Susan Moffat.

2012-2013 Biology teacher Dr. Virginia Edgcomb receives the Dr. Seymour H. Hutner Prize by the International Society of Protobiologists.

2013-2014 Lucas Johns ’14 and Carlo Bocconcelli ’14 are two of the three National Merit finalists on Cape Cod. Dr. Mark Segar steps in as interim head of school.

2014-2015 Stephen A. Duffy becomes seventh head of school.

Construction begins on Morse Hall. Falmouth Academy joins the Cape and Islands league of the MIAA. Girls soccer plays in the state tournament for the first time. Boys soccer receives the C&I Soccer Officials Association sportsmanship award.

Girls basketball earns league co-champions, has the two highest scorers in the league and boasts the MVP of the all-star game.

League champs girls lacrosse is the only team in the MIAA to have an undefeated season.

2015-2016 The all-purpose Morse Hall is dedicated. Students, faculty and friends build a vernal pool and construction begins on the Simon Center for the Arts. Kendall Currence ’18 scores her 1,000th basketball point and Kunaal Rajagopal ’16 breaks a 25-year basketball record of the highest score in a boys’ game with 43 points. Jane Earley ’18 scores her 200th lacrosse goal and Eliza Van Voorhis ’17, Charlotte Van Voorhis ’16 and Christie Lee Brake ’16 score their 100th lacrosse goals.

Transitions Au Revoir, Chères Enseignantes, Dr. Emmanuelle Bonnafoux Claydon and Amaris Cuchanski Falmouth Academy has been fortunate to have such an exuberant French teacher as Dr. Emmanuelle Bonnafoux Claydon for the last five years. She will be missed by colleagues and students when she heads down south to take a teaching position at Marist School in Atlanta, GA with her husband John and beloved dog, Lottie.

Dr. Bonnafoux Claydon leaves us with these words, “Of all the schools I have had the chance to teach at, Falmouth Academy has been unique as I have been able to see the students grow, both as learners and people. I met my current seniors when they Dr. Bonnafoux with French 3 were in my 8th grade French class back in 2012! It is a true privilege to watch students turn into well-read and caring young people, engaged and passionate about making a difference. They have touched me as much as I have—hopefully—helped them grow on their high school journey. I am confident that these wonderful human beings will make the world a safer and happier place.”

Amaris Cuchanski began working as a French teacher at Falmouth Academy in the fall of 2015. While her time at FA has been brief, she’s made a lasting impression on her students. When asked about her departure, she shared that she she will fondly remember her students for their humor, kindness, and generosity of spirit. She is also thankful to her colleagues who offered their friendly support, warmth, and guidance over the last two years.

2016-2017 Charlie Fenske ’18 wins a first prize in the Google Science Fair from Virgin Galactic. He is one of 16 finalists from around the world. He and Théo Guérin ’17 win three awards at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair: a first place from NASA, a second place overall, and a third place from the Experimental Pilots Association. Falmouth Academy’s German program is distinguished as a German Center of Excellence— only one of 26—by the American Association of Teachers of German. Eliza Van Voorhis scores her 100th soccer goal, 1000th basketball point and 1000th basketball rebound. Girls basketball earns the Number One seed in the state tournament.

Two juniors become the first FA students to commit for athletics to Division 1 schools. Jane Earley ’18 scores her 300th lacrosse goal. Construction is completed on the Simon Center for the Arts. Rob Wells appointed interim head of school.

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Ms. Cuchanski will be traveling in France next year, and plans to meet up with the FA exchange students in Nice and hopes her students keep in touch. While she may be off having new adventures, her heart remains at FA. A bientôt, Ms. Cuchanski.

Ms. Cuchanski with French 1

All the Best, Mr. Duffy In Steve Duffy’s very first letter of introduction to The GAM in the fall of 2014, he reflected on being delighted by the joy he experienced and witnessed as a new member of the FA community. He was prepared for the hard work and responsibilities of being a new head having served for 30 years as a teacher and administrator, but he went on to say that he was surprised by how much fun he was having on a daily basis as Head of School at Falmouth Academy.

He brought that sense of joy to his work. His enthusiasm reinvigorated a flagging capital campaign, and his close oversight, along with the members of the Facilities Committee of the Board, resulted in the completion of the stunning performance space, The Simon Center for the Arts. Mr. Duffy also oversaw the completion of Morse Hall which provides our community a multi-purpose space and a place to gather each morning for all-school meeting. Pam Hinkle, Director of Development, describes him as having been a fearless fundraiser for the school.

In light of the national discussion among educational thought leaders, Mr. Duffy sought to engage and inspire us to examine our academic program and to imagine how we might respond to the questions being generated around how to best prepare students for a world and work force that will require additional and different skills and instructional experiences. Mr. Duffy’s work with the trustees around generative thinking, his work toward aligning FA with current best practices, and two successful building projects, provide the community space to continue meaningful conversations about education and build on the school’s remarkable foundation. For this, we thank him and wish him much joy.

Spressatura, Ms. Loder Karen Loder, a 30-year independent school administrator, and Steve’s wife, brought her wealth of experience and professionalism to the benefit of Falmouth Academy as Director of Admission. In the three short years she served the school, she modernized the enrollment process bringing it online and paperless to improve efficiency, protect confidential information, and reinforce Falmouth Academy’s commitment to the environment. Ms. Loder also created beautiful admission materials articulating for prospective families what is unique and compelling about an FA education. She initiated the building of a new website, which is the first point of contact and information for current and prospective families. She expanded the international student population, advocated for an American culture course and committed herself to successfully managing tuition and financial aid to support the financial health of the school.

Ms. Loder’s background in psychology and counseling made her a close listener when meeting with families, guiding them through the admissions process with care and nuance. We thank Ms. Loder for her gracious and careful shepherding of our students and families. We send her off in August with our highest regards and well wishes.

Fair Winds and Following Seas, Ms. Murphy Jennifer Murphy started in September 2005 when the library was in a classroom with just one card catalog, one computer, and no internet access. Fast-forward to May 2017, and you’ll see Ms. Murphy’s skillful handiwork upon entering FA’s Buxton Library. Her contributions include the stocking of the new library, the automation of the catalog which became the online catalog in use today. She added interlibrary loan, online databases, eBooks and a content management system to broaden student access to high-quality resources. She has been a quiet presence always willing to support the students in tracking down relevant and scholarly resources, troubleshooting internet issues and keeping the school abreast of “FA in the News.” In addition to her work with students, Ms. Murphy has been a supportive colleague and ends her time at FA by saying, “It has been a wonderful experience working with such fiercely intelligent and dedicated faculty and with students who love to learn. I am so appreciative of the opportunities I've had here.” From Mariner to Navigator, we wish her well at Sturgis West.

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Hakuna Matata, Klein Family FA warmly welcomes Rudi Gerard Klein born on April 18, 2017 as we say a fond farewell to Mrs. Liz Klein, who has ambitiously decided to take on one of the most rewarding and demanding jobs – a stayat-home mom. We wish her and her husband, Frieder, great love and joy as they start a new chapter together with their beautiful son, Rudi.

Fanfare for Carla Surrette After four years with the Cape Symphony, FA is happy to welcome Carla Surette to the role of Executive Assistant to the Head of School. Ms. Surette, a Falmouth resident, is happy to be working in her home community and loves that she still gets to hear beautiful music at work. She is the proud parent of two grown children and an even prouder grandmother to two lovely grandchildren with one on the way.

What's Next for FA's Class of 2017?

This list says so much about this remarkable class. They are artists and scientists and philosophers and writers and musicians and athletes. They are headed to colleges in 11 different states and 2 foreign countries. Two students plan to hike the Appalachian Trail before going to college; two are accepting the challenge of military and maritime academy life; one plans to study the Great Books; another will study computer game design in Spain. At a school that celebrates and nurtures each individual, it is not a surprise to find such distinct and varied pursuits in one small class. As you head off to your new challenges and adventures, please remember that you will always be a part of us here at FA and we a part of you. Godspeed.

Ruth Slocum, College Advisor Bates College (2 students) Brown University (2 students) Boston University Coast Guard Academy Scholars Program Clarkson University Dalhousie University, Canada Digipen, Europa-Bilbao, Spain Elon University

Endicott College Fordham University James Madison University Massachusetts Maritime Academy Middlebury College Northeastern University Oberlin College Roger Williams University

Simmons College St. John’s College Tufts University (2 students) University of Maine (3 students) University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Massachusetts, Boston University of Rochester Wheaton College

Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.

Eleanor Roosevelt, The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt

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A seriously silly tour of Falmouth Academy SCHOOL VISIT

Martha Clark '18

Ms. Allyson Manchester's Creative Writing elective

Good morning! Welcome to ___________ Academy! I am ___________, your friendly Admissions ___________

PLACE

PERSON

OCCUPATION

First, we will travel to Morse Hall, where we have our All-School ___________ at 10:20am everyday. On

NOUN

our way upstairs, make sure you get a piece of ___________ from Mrs. Riddiford's dish. Also, notice the NOUN

___________ artwork on the shelves. At the top of the stairs, you will find trophies that we ___________ ADJECTIVE

PAST TENSE

___________ for our success in ___________. Also, our teachers stand here when we need extra VERB

SPORT

___________ with our homework. Down the hall is the tenth grade ___________ area and our NOUN

NOUN

___________ language department. Let's keep going! Notice that there are no ______________ on the ADJECTIVE

PLURAL NOUN

lockers. Let's keep going! I love the ______________ that the eighth graders created for their Arts Across the

PLURAL NOUN

Curriculum Project! Now, we will enter the Bruce and Patrice Buxton ___________. Here, you can see the

PLACE

students studying ___________. If it's a nice day outside, they can study on the ___________. Through these

ADVERB

PLACE

doors, the Computer Lab is home to our ___________ internet and our ___________-year-old computers.

ADJECTIVE

NUMBER

Now, follow me downstairs! The art room is where artists can ___________ themselves with a variety of

VERB

media, such as ___________. Down this hallway, you might notice that our locker rooms smell like NOUN

__________. In the gym, you can ___________ all sorts of ___________, like ___________ and ___________.

NOUN

VERB

NOUN

NOUN

NOUN

There are our science labs, where students are currently dissecting ______________. This, over here, is our

PLURAL NOUN

dark room. You can ___________ photographs with Mrs. Moffat. Directly across the hall is a

VERB

__________ classroom with a __________ table where we have class discussions. You know what they say: NOUN

NOUN

there are no back _________________ at Falmouth Academy! We are already back at the Admissions Office!

PLURAL NOUN

We hope to see you in the fall!

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7 Highfield Drive Falmouth, MA 02540 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Printed on recycled paper, containing 10% post-consumer waste, that was harvested from responsibly managed forests. Printed with Soy based inks.

FALMOUTH ACADEMY

SUMMER 2017

BUILD . CREATE .THINK . IMAGINE . DESIGN . INVENT . PLAY . EXPLORE .THRIVE

children teens adults

Learn more about our FASUMMER activities at falmouthacademy.org/Summer-Programs