We joyfully invite you to celebrate 60 years of Ancona Magic!
Saturday, May 13, 2023, at 6:30p VU Rooftop, 133 E Cermak Rd.
Gustavo Bamberger and Martha Van
Haitsma
Signature Bank
Austin Bartlett and Emily Chen
Joshua Schwartz
Susan Rogers and Richard Stephenson
Tanarra Schneider
Sibyl Day and John Ring
Nancy Jacobson and Family
Tabitha Watts and Jay Parker
The Sallay Family
Luja Consulting
Iverson and Lounsbery Family
Presentation of the Spirit of Ancona Award to Presentation of the Spirit of Ancona Award to Ellen Cole Ellen Cole
Presentation of the Teaching Excellence Award to Presentation of the Teaching Excellence Award to Peggy
Carla Kupe & Maria Luna-Duarte Committee Co-Chairs
Genesis Bencivenga
Jamilah Bowden
Leslie Browne
Emily Chen
Jennifer Elling
Elizabeth Escobar-Wilson
Jennifer Hodges
Leah Hope
Martha Itulya-Omollo
Stacy Koutsoubas
Natasha Mickey
Kafi Moragne-Patterson
Renee Raap
Shawn Rudder
Sarah Walter
60 years of teaching excellence.
60 years of community.
60 years of powering the genius of children intellectually, emotionally, and physically in this safe and expanding learning community that is Ancona.
This incredible milestone is a testimony to the values and foundation on which Ancona was built, as well as, its continued relevance and impact throughout the decades - and especially during these recent times.
From the myriad of dedicated educators to its caring staff members, and active supporters, Ancona has been and continues to be and feel “like home” to many.
Remembering and honoring the roots that anchored this learning community, while celebrating its growth and future; are truly a joy and moment of pride for us.
Congratulations to the Ancona School on 60 years of forming amazing, passionate, and inspired game changers, innovators, and trailblazers while creating a true village for their families and the wider community.
Let’s go, Aviators!
Maria Luna-Duarte & Carla Madeleine Kupe Gala Committee Co-ChairsAustin Bartlett Board Chair
Elisa Reliford Board Vice Chair
Gustavo Bamberger Board Co-Treasurer
Kapil Kumar Co-Treasurer
Eric Schneider Secretary
Ben Smith-Donald Committee on Trustees Co-Chair
Nanette Harris Committee on Trustees Co-Chair
Keith Bevans
Sibyl Day
Lucila Espedido
Yuri Kern
Carmen Sallay
Jerome Weidner
Laura Staley
Paul Watford
Joshua Schwartz Chair
David Bohan
Ina Burd
Patricia Cornelius-Woods
Evan Freund
Norman Harelik
Stanley Hill
Nancy Jacobson
Williams Lowry
Renetta McCann
Blanche Roberts
Susan Rogers
Jonathan Silverman
Alisa Starks
Christine Tompsett
Jacob Adams
Baba Adeyemi
Melanie Ahmad
Wayne "Mr B " Baldwin
Yaritxa Banuelos
Heather Black-Alexander
Tayé Brown
Leslie Browne
Jessie Buckley
Desmond Cain
Gloria Carroll
Brenda Castillo
Jen Coleman
Ernie Cotten
Barb Crawford
Lola Davis
Devenia Doss
Rawan El-Bawab
Tricia Erington
Ainsley Fleetwood
Cole Francis
Marc Furigay
Tony Gleason
Breanna Gray
Janet Gray-McKennis
Elizabeth Hamlett
Meagan Harlow-Kuzucu
TJ Harris
Jenny Hempel
Juan Herrera
Liz Iverson
Awazi Jaafaru
Kait Kumar
Valerie Lowder
Peggy Malone
Isabela Marques
Taylor Marsh
Angie Martinez
Kee Merriweather
Jack Murphy
Michael Nance
Mary Nwabueze
Margaret Patterson
JD Pirtle
Yma Plaskett
AJ Poremskis
Luca Prazeres
Yolita Ray
Bert Rice
Ivan Rice
Jose Rodriguez
Alex Rosario
Rene Sanchez
Jacqueline Sanders
Rikesh Sederstrom
Kiesha Shaw-Nobles
Baila Silverman
Nick Smicklas
Kurt Spieles
Marsha Stewart
Jon Stoper
Alysia Tate
Tracie Thomas
Ronda Tolbert
Chris Weber
Delia West
Rodney Williams
Karmin Wright
A powerful sense of possibility inspired five young Hyde Park families in the summer of 1962 to place an ad in the Hyde Park Herald asking, “Montessori, Anybody?” By autumn, the then called Ancona Montessori School opened in a storefront on 53rd street and Lake Park Blvd., and a school that offered a philosophical difference astonishing for its time was born…
Since then, Ancona has shaped the lives of generations of children, creating confident risk-takers and creative problem-solvers, instilling a joy of learning and a sense of empathy and care for people and their communities. Thank you for celebrating 60 years of Ancona magic.
We are so excited to celebrate this milestone with you tonight!
Ellen Cole
Spirit of Ancona Award
Ellen Cole taught at the Ancona School for 40th years; this was a remarkable achievement. Ellen Cole was the physical embodiment of the spirit of Ancona, a person who represented the best parts of who we are, and who we aspire to be. At this moment, words fall short of expressing the admiration and love we feel for a teacher, friend, and person who lived what she taught her students. A masterful educator, Ellen taught and modeled the art of peace Simply sharing her space made us better, kinder, wiser.
Ellen has had a tremendous career. She was responsible for educating generations of students who are now doing incredible things because of her stewardship and care. Perhaps even more remarkable are the generations of parents whom she taught as well. Parents who were often, and for the very first time, separating from their children, entrusting their little ones to Ellen. Ellen who taught so many young parents how to care for and raise their children In her time at Ancona, including in the last few years, she was nominated for countless awards which she declined to receive because of her humility. For Ellen, it was never about her, but about her work with children.
There is no doubt that we lost a brilliant and luminous light yesterday evening, though her impact will never be forgotten.
We are mourning a loss like no other, and we recognize this news will impact our students both those who are here now and those who have long since graduated We are sharing this news with you, our parents, so that you can talk with your children today when they return home from school. It is important to answer their questions as best you can and to allow them the space they need to process their feelings. Children process loss in a variety of ways, so we ask that you create a safe space for those feelings and questions to emerge.
We will bring our students and faculty together for an all-school assembly to remember Ellen in the near future. Individual classrooms may also choose to process as a group. We will celebrate her work and life and mourn together. It is possible that some of our older students learned about Ellen’s passing through social media. We will work with students on a case by case basis, but will not be speaking about her passing until after parents have had the opportunity to speak with their children today, after school.
We have curated a set of resources to refer to as you and your children work to process this news in the days and weeks ahead.
Furthermore, Tony Gleason, Director of Counseling and Family Supports, and his interns will hold office hours during which they will be available in 15-minuteincrements to parents and students alike who need some extra support during this time. For students who are working from home, we will have virtual meeting times set up via Zoom, this will be shared by those students' teachers.
Ellen’s family has shared with me that once her final resting arrangements have been made, those details will be shared with us. We will pass that information along once we have it.
Ellen lives on in each of us. I would like to believe that each time we choose peace, choose kindness, choose to care we are channeling our friend, our colleague, our teacher––Ellen Cole.
Peggy Malone
Teaching Excellence Award
Peggy Malone is retiring at the end of this school year in June 2023. Peggy has been at Ancona for 40 years, instilling Montessori and social justice values in students and families alike She has been an inspiration and a mentor to many students and a source of support and assurance to many parents worried about their young children. Her classroom environment was inviting, to the young children, as well as, their parents. From her picture books, to puzzles, to the fresh flowers that adorned her classroom and made it look beautiful. Peggy created a space of belonging for many children and sparked their love for learning and a joyful environment.
In her classroom the children were able to be themselves and be curious, share their new learning by working independently and with each other, and many learned to read under her guidance. Peggy would encourage their curiosity by mindfully observing, asking insightful questions, and listening. She has been responsible for shaping the learning of countless humans at an early age, their insightfulness, developing a strong foundation that would serve them well a lifetime.
In addition to leading the pre-primary team, Peggy is a skilled calligrapher and florist, and the parent of Ancona alum and registered nurse AnnaTai Malone During her tenure at Ancona, she worked with the children in a group and individually to learn about their strengths and their opportunities for growth. Through her partnership and collaborations, she worked with many of the parents as a true partner to help with the continued growth of her students.
Peggy has had an unwavering dedication in the classroom and shaped the early years of dozens of generations, as she helped ignite their passion for learning and inspired their young minds by helping them grow Her impact will be felt for generations, as the children she welcomed once into her classroom, are now agents of change in their own ways. Thank you for being an extraordinary teacher, leaving your legacy, in the lives of the children that you have touched. You will forever be remembered.
Ancona’s auction process is now online! To place your bid, please use your smartphone and follow the link texted to you when you registered. If you have any questions, please visit the registration area. Announcements will be made prior to the silent auction closing.
When you leave at the end of the night, stop by the checkout table to collect any certificates or physical items won. All sales are final.
At the end of the evening, any items won will be added to your account under the credit card number that was given. Your card will be charged the next business day, and an invoice will be sent via email with the details of the charges to your account.
If you prefer to pay by a method other than the credit card linked to your bidding account, please alert the event staff before 9:30 p.m.
include cash, checks (made out to The Ancona School), and all major credit cards.
All property is sold “as-is,” and the Ancona School makes no warranties or representations of any kind or nature, expressed or implied, with respect to the property. In no event shall the school be responsible for the conditions or warranty of description, authenticity, or condition of the property, and no statement in the catalog or made at the sale or in the invoice or elsewhere shall be deemed to be such warranty or representation or assumption of liability.
By their purchase, the winner waives any and all claims against the Ancona School, the donor of the property or services, and any agents or affiliates of the Ancona School and the donor relating to or arising out of their purchase.
