Lamplighter mini Summer 2023

Many Ways to be a Boy... but only one Allen-Stevenson

EDITORS

Sarah Woods

Director of Communications

Jenny Bruce

Associate Director of Communications

CONTRIBUTOR

Jen Ziplow

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jenny Bruce

Al Pereira

Ariana Sarwari

Candace Silva

Louisa Wells

Sarah Woods

DESIGNER

Anthony Kapp

FRONT COVER PHOTO

The Varsity Basketball team captured this year’s Manhattan Private Middle School League (MPMSL) Championship.

SCAN HERE

to access our online photo album.

The Lamplighter mini is Allen-Stevenson’s new summer publication, replacing the Spring/Summer Lamplighter. We hope you enjoy these highlights of our comprehensive program of 3As—Academics, Athletics and the Arts---and the multitude of events that brought our community together this past winter and spring. The Winter Lamplighter will include highlights from the 2023 Closing Exercises and our 8th-grade graduating class.

ACADEMICS

Science Field Trip P2

Costa Rica Trip P3

ARTS

Arts Festival P6

Theatre Performances P7

Winter Concerts P8

The Allen-Stevenson School admits students of any race, color, religion, nationality, or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment policies, financial aid program, or any other programs administered by the School.

Winter Concerts p12

ATHLETICS

Winter & Spring Sports Recap P4

COMMUNITY

Book Fair P9

International Festival P10

Benefit 2023 P11

Alumni News & Events P12

Reunion 2023 P14

Grandparents & Special Friends Day P16

CONTENTS

BRINGING SCIENCE TO LIFE

Mr. Divan’s sixth-grade Science and Engineering students studied the infamous Gowanus Canal by visiting the Newtown Creek Water Treatment Plant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn – bringing science to life! This trip contextualized what students have learned about New York’s water systems and the historical environmental impact of industrial waste.

There was much to see, hear, and smell at Newtown – the plant processes

1.3 billion gallons of wastewater daily! The boys were impressed by the massive, complex machinery and processes that ensure clean water in our homes and safe water returning to our waterways.

Students also had the privilege of meeting Brian Gochenaur, an environmental engineer with Langan Engineering & Environmental Services. The boys learned about the ongoing efforts required to one day transform the toxic Gowanus Canal into a thriving, healthy ecosystem.

Over Spring Break, Allen-Stevenson’s eighthgrade boys embarked on an extraordinary service-learning trip to Costa Rica! For the eighth year, A-S proudly sponsored The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation in providing support to La Carpio, one of the most underresourced neighborhoods on the outskirts of San José. Students were warmly welcomed by host families who ensured that they were well cared for and practiced speaking Spanish!

This year, A-S donated clothing, sports equipment and materials to build 10 bunk beds (made, assembled, and installed by the boys). Students also gave their time – playing games and reading to young children, taking children to the Museo de los Niños, and joining in soccer games with several groups of boys their age. This trip was a profoundly meaningful opportunity for students to support a community in need and apply their Spanish skills in the field. As one A-S student remarked, “This trip helped me understand that where you are born is just about luck. We are so incredibly fortunate.”

COSTA RICA Service Learning in

SCAN FOR A TRIP VIDEO

ATHLETICS

WINTER & SPRING SPORTS

The Varsity Basketball team captured the Manhattan Private Middle School League Championship this winter, finishing with an undefeated league record and an outcome overall of 9 wins and 2 losses. During the spring, every team finished with a winning record. Varsity Baseball wrapped up the season with a competitive game against Buckley for the league championship, falling just short in a 2-1 defeat. The Track team had 15 athletes qualify for the championship meet, The Gotham Games, where Allen-Stevenson posted three podiums – 80-meter hurdles, long jump, and shot-put. What a year!

The annual Arts Festival showcases student artwork across all grades in the school. Pieces range from ceramics, painting, and woodwork to video! The boys take great pride in describing their work to parents and peers, while discovering the diversity of creations by students of all ages. The Art Team is on hand to elaborate on the processes that led to this impressive exhibit.

Arts

This winter and spring, the Assembly Hall stage came alive with the musical performance of Boys, Broadway and Beyond! (with a script by our own Director of Theatre/Technical Theatre, Julie Montero) as well as the witty 7th/8th Grade Spring production with Nightingale-Bamford, Comedy Tonight!: Comedic Scenes & Sketches Throughout the Ages. Our student tech crew masterfully ran the lights and sound and tracked all the props. Collaboration, creative problem-solving, communication and time-management skills were instrumental in preparing these boys for a highly successful opening night!

A delightful enchanted forest welcomed boys, parents, and friends at this year’s Book Fair. Boys were encouraged to let their imaginations grow as they perused the impressive array of carefully curated books. Teacher librarians and grade-specific reading lists offered informative guidance–all part of our robust reading curriculum developed to foster a love of books. New this year was a chance to shop a selection of books by talented community authors and illustrators–Alan Retsky, Anna Solomon, Elizabeth Block, Gary Rivlin, Margaret Lewis, Leigh Abramson, Kate McMullan, and Jim McMullan–who were present to mingle and sign copies.

A plethora of performances provided families with a range of marvelous music offerings at Allen-Stevenson. Performances this winter and spring included concerts by Lower Division students, 5th/6th Grade Wind and String Ensembles, 7th/8th Orchestra, and the two Upper Division Choruses. Recitals and solo assembly performances offered additional opportunities to showcase our students’ impressive musical talents bolstered by our outstanding music department.

SUMMER 2023

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Allen-Stevenson was transformed into a cultural kaleidoscope with our community showing up in great numbers, representing 36 cultures from around the globe for the International Festival! Families, faculty, and staff shared traditions, delicious food, music, and dance to the delight of all who were able to join. Gratitude and accolades to our outstanding Parents Association for pulling together this extraordinary event and to all of our community members who contributed to making this a celebration to remember.

Our Fire & Ice Benefit was a tremendous success! With panoramic city views in the background high up at Tribeca 360, over 300 parents, faculty and staff were thrilled to catch up with each other while bidding on silent auction items in the creatively designed ice-themed space. Head of School, Duncan Lyon, and Executive Assistant to the Head of School, Stephen Krawec, oversaw the school’s first Fund-a-Need, which raised enough funds to underwrite a full tuition for two students next year. The party then switched to a fire theme, as music and dancing rounded out the party. We thank our community for their generous support towards scholarship, keeping A-S accessible to more families.

1966

Richard Thomas ‘66 starred in the play adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird at the Denver Center of the Performing Arts. Fellow alumnus, Landon Hilliard ‘76 attended a recent performance and found it eye-opening.

Producer and alumnus, Dewey Wigod ‘77 will be featured, along with musician Edith Kraft, in an upcoming talk entitled ‘A Journey Through the History of Movies’ at Temple Emanuel.

1980

Roger Raines ‘80 worked on the June Foray episode of Mo Rocca’s podcast, Mobituaries in the fall.

1987

1996

Will Schutt ‘96 announced the upcoming release of Brief Homage to Pluto & Other Poems, his translations of the great Swiss Italian poet Fabio Pusterla. The book came out in April from Princeton University Press.

2001

2005

Christopher James ‘05 and his sister Lynelle performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on April 27, 2023 at 8PM. The concert benefited Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

1977

Mario Muller ‘77 is the current artist in residence at Stephen Wise Temple. His Jewish Heroes Banner Project showcases a set of striking black-and-white paintings depicting 36 Jewish heroes.

In February, Michael Burger ‘89, Polo Dobkin ‘87 and Alfie Burger ‘87 and his son Milo ‘23 had dinner together at Meadowsweet in Brooklyn, Polo’s restaurant. They had a great meal and enjoyed catching up!

Freddy “Fuego” Gonzalez ‘01 is featured in an article in Earshot Jazz magazine. The piece focuses on his music, specifically as a trombonist.

2012

A big congratulations to Lead Producer, Cameron Koffman ‘12 and Co-producer Robby Mitchell ‘12 on the premiere of Cellino v. Barnes, a comedy about the breakup of the iconic

New York law firm, Cellino and Barnes. The show was recently featured on NY 1 and ran from April 13 - May 7 in NYC.

2018

Daniel Simmons ‘18 performed in a number of concerts in May in NYC. He is a phenomenally talented violinist!

Santi Vargas Machado ‘18 visited Allen-Stevenson in January to see some of his former teachers, including Señorita Spielberg.

2020 Gold

In addition to developing a history curriculum, ‘Triple E’, which piloted at the Museum of the City of New York, Lawson Wright ‘20 Gold also created a documentary on the Cold War’s impact on Civil Rights

2020 Blue

Charlie DeMarco ‘20 Blue was called up again to the U.S. Under-19 Men’s Youth National Team, which recently kicked off training camp at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

Alumni News

THE KERSEY DINNER

Alumni from 1958 -2022 joined members of faculty and staff, both current and past, on April 14, 2023, to gather together and celebrate the extraordinary experience that is an Allen-Stevenson education, and to honor the legacy of our beloved, David Kersey h’98.

SCAN FOR A VIDEO TRIBUTE TO MR. KERSEY

Grandparents SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY

For over fifty years, the late, beloved David Kersey h’98 was dedicated to nurturing the intellectual and emotional growth of Allen-Stevenson boys, a gift that has endured through generations of our graduates. Beyond his unending commitment to Allen-Stevenson, Mr. Kersey was also a passionate and devoted gardener.

Excitement and warmth filled Allen-Stevenson’s halls as grandparents and special friends joined Lower Division (K-4) boys for a morning of shared classroom activities and musical performances. Our young students were excellent hosts, proudly showing guests school projects, reading favorite stories and playing or singing songs carefully practiced for this momentous occasion. Smiles all around conveyed the joy of spending precious time together while making meaningful memories.

Please give to the Annual Fund by June 30, 2023.

Scan below to give online.

Together, let’s keep his legacy growing.