The Village Green, Winter 2016

WINTER 2016

Comfort & Joy: Holidays 2015 PARENTS WEEKEND 2015 • INSIDE THE STUDIO • THE INAUGURAL INTERSESSION

Village Green contents

The

1

Headmaster

6 Parents Weekend

14 Comfort and Joy: Holidays 2015

2

News and Notes

10

Athletics

22

The Elephant Remembers

3 from the editor

Inside the Studio

5 Fall Play

24

The Last Word

Dear Readers, Happy New Year! Welcome to the first winter issue of the Village Green.

I am thrilled to expand our publications and give you the chance to catch up on some of what happened late this fall, especially over the holiday season. The first two weeks of December are always a magical time on campus, and this year was no exception. From our charitable dedication to Toys for Tots, to the quiet contemplation of Christmas Vespers, to the lively and joyous Boar’s Head Festival, the entire community comes together in celebration of the season. Turn to page 14 to learn more.

Though we all enjoyed the time to relax during winter vacation, we were excited to be back at work, as Intersession, our supplemental curriculum program, debuted in January. Check out page 4 to read about how our teachers and students have made the academic experience even more meaningful.

In this issue, you’ll get a look at the latest news in the arts and athletics, and the chance to read the works of two alumni—Henry Coons ’71 and John Gillespie Magee Jr. ’40—that are especially relevant as construction continues on our Veterans Tribute on campus (see page 9).

I hope you enjoy this glimpse into winter life at Avon. Stay tuned for the spring issue of The Avonian in late May. As always, I welcome your feedback!

Aspirando et perseverando, Morgan C. Cugell, editor cugellm@avonoldfarms.com 860-404-4239

AVON OLD FARMS SCHOOL ESTABLISHED 1927 HEADMASTER Kenneth H. LaRocque EDITOR Morgan C. Cugell DESIGNER 2k Design www.2kDesign.com PHOTOGRAPHERS Seshu Badrinath Will Cook Peter Feng ’18 Nan Flanagan Thomas Honan John LaPerch PRINTER Benchemark Printing, Inc., Schenectady, NY CONTRIBUTORS Thanks to everyone who contributed to this magazine. Special thanks to Cheryl Benoit, John LaPerch, Ken LaRocque, and Brendon Welker ’91.

The Village Green is published for the alumni, parents, and friends of Avon Old Farms School. It is distributed to approximately 8,000 readers. All rights reserved.

AVON OLD FARMS SCHOOL 500 Old Farms Road Avon, CT 06001 www.avonoldfarms.com (860) 404-4100 ADMISSIONS (800) 464-2866 admissions@avonoldfarms.com ALUMNI We enjoy hearing from you!

Please send us your latest news and notes: Email: abramsonl@avonoldfarms.com Phone: (800) 336-8195 Fax: (860) 404-4631 EMAIL Members of the administration and faculty can be emailed by using the following formula: last name + first initial @avonoldfarms.com. The directory on the school website also includes email links.

Avon Old Farms School admits students of any race, color, national and 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, national or ethnic origin, disabilities, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

The Avonian Online Find past issues of The Avonian online at

www.avonoldfarms. com/avonian

Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com /avonoldfarms

Follow us on Twitter @avonoldfarms

from the

Headmaster

by Kenneth H. LaRocque

Greetings I am excited that we are publishing two issues of the Village Green. This winter issue provides the opportunity to share many of the exciting events that took place on campus over the past few months. From Parents Weekend in late October right through our Christmas Hockey Classic tournament, the late fall was brimming with the spirit of tradition that makes Avon Old Farms such a special community. I am thankful to our students, faculty, administration, staff, and parents for their many contributions to our school that resulted in such a successful fall term.

Parents Weekend took place this fall as late as possible, given our school calendar and athletic scheduling constraints. October 23 and 24 provided wonderful weather for our weekend as parents attended classes in record numbers on Friday morning, and our Performing Arts Department hosted its first concert of the year on Friday evening. Saturday morning included the opportunity for parents to meet with their sons’ teachers and to participate in a program led by Dr. Michael Thompson, considered by many to be our country’s preeminent authority on male adolescent development. The weekend ended with a full slate of athletic contests on Saturday afternoon, and for the first time in the 35 years I have been at Old Farms, we enjoyed a clean sweep of our contests, winning our cross-country meet, five soccer games, and two football games!

We hosted the Unified Sports Regional Soccer Tournament on October 29, and students who regularly work with special athletes successfully orchestrated the entire affair. November was packed with activity on campus with an admission open house (November 3), our National Council’s fall meeting (November 6–7), a special induction of Bill David ’61 into our athletic Hall of Fame prior to our annual football game under the lights versus Exeter (November 7). The following weekend, the Old Farms Theatre Company produced The 39 Steps, an Alfred Hitchcock melodrama that has been reworked for

the stage. Our actors, guided by faculty members Chris Bolster and Ben Custer ’10, were superb all three nights (November 11–13).

Following Thanksgiving break, we returned to classes on Tuesday, December 1, and our American Red Cross club hosted an extremely successful blood drive on campus, which was the first of many community service activities at Avon in December. Again this year, our students, led

by Warden Matty Horton ’16 and the Student Council, held numerous fundraising events to help Hands On Hartford provide more than 500 needy children with toys for Christmas morning. Pasta dinners, dress-down days, prize drawings, fasts, and dances all helped the men of Avon raise more than $23,000 for this worthwhile cause, which the Winged Beavers have supported since 1983. On December 15, Dean Arthur Custer delighted all at morning meeting with his animated explanation of the origin of our Boar’s Head Festival, and Wanda Guzman, from Hands On Hartford, thanked our students for the mountain of toys that were on display for all to see. Later that morning, our students delivered the toys to Hartford; that evening the Class of 2016, under Custer’s direction, produced the Boar’s Head Festival for the 61st time in the Riddle Refectory.

On December 16, our boys left for their holiday break, and we readied ourselves for the arrival of seven hockey teams to join us for the 33rd Christmas Hockey Classic from Thursday through Saturday afternoon. For the first time since 2006, the Winged Beavers prevailed and took home the championship trophy with a convincing win over Kent in the finals. As school closed for the holiday with the first semester completed, students and faculty excitedly anticipated the inaugural voyage of our Intersession program, January 5 through January 13, 2016. This new program provides everyone at school the chance to venture outside our traditional academic curriculum and sample enrichment courses sponsored by various members of our faculty and administration.

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News and Notes Featured Avonian

Arden Coleman ’16

It

is hard to find a more dynamic campus leader at Avon than four-year student Arden Coleman ’16. A quick look at his extracurricular activities reveals that Arden’s passions are incredibly diverse: he leads the Nimrod Club, the Literary Club, the Art Club, and the Hippocrene, and serves as editor in chief of the Avon Record, the student newspaper. Athletically, he captained the cross-country team this fall and captained JV basketball last winter. In addition to these achievements, he won the junior class’s Earnest and Persistent Effort Award for his commitment to academics last year.

Of all these interests and attainments, the Nimrod Club was the first to catch his eye. Arden recalls, “Before I even came here, I knew about the club; I saw it in a magazine that Mr. Barlow showed me, and I just thought, ‘Wow, this looks amazing … the woods, the boys and their outdoorsy, woodsy, manly clothing doing crazy stuff in the woods,’ and I just thought, ‘I want to be a part of that.’ So I’ve been president since the voting process of last year, and that means a lot to me.” Nimrod has become a meaningful part of his life over his Avon career, he notes: “It means being able to get up on Sundays and actually be able to do hard work through community service. I grew up with the idea, through my parents, that you should want to serve others and serve the world to make it a better place. It also relates to my [Baha’i] faith; I don’t talk about it a lot, but it’s what I grew up with and it has brought me to being who I am. It’s really different, but it’s about unity, mindfulness, oneness, and also service 2

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for humanity, so that’s something that has really helped me.”

Arden also believes strongly in the importance of keeping the tradition of the Avon Record alive and strong. He explains, “The idea of giving the school news as well as documenting its history through writing is important because nowadays, our generation’s way of documenting things is selfies, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. Being able to go back to our roots and the old-fashioned way of documenting life and putting out news is something I’ve just always been interested in and, now that I have this opportunity of being editor in chief, I just want to keep going with it and make it bigger than it has been in the past ... We’re trying to make as many issues as we can and we should be able to double the number of issues we had last year.”

Arden credits Major Bourgault as one of the most influential faculty members he has encountered at Avon.

“He’s my advisor now, and he has connected with me on a different level because he actually grew up in the same town as I did (Burlingame, Calif.). He was about a block away from my elementary school, and, once he heard that, it became a different relationship. He has been an influence just by who he is, having been in the Marines, but also by how he presents himself and the fact that he’s an alum, so he has that connection with the students.”

We are all very excited to watch Arden continue leading his peers as the year moves forward.

Inside the Studio:

Afternoon Independent Project AIP is a new program at AOF that offers motivated upperclassmen the opportunity to investigate, for one sports season, an area or content about which they are passionate. Possible areas of study could include the visual or performing arts, creative writing, scientific or historic research, engineering, or software.

The Visual Arts Department kicked off the first season of AIP with an advanced painting workshop and an alternative photography mentorship with two local artists. Results were beautiful and celebrate not only the collaboration with those artists but also the dedicated work of the three students involved. We look forward to the continued success of AIP, which allows our students to further explore their passions and enrich their academic experiences.

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News and Notes

Inaugural Intersession Kicks Off

T

heodate Pope Riddle, the founder of Avon Old Farms, strongly believed in an approach to education in which students work alongside faculty mentors to produce meaningful results. Intersession, our new supplementary curriculum program, honors that tradition by encouraging students and faculty to delve deeply into a single topic that interests them and produce something tangible and valuable with their efforts.

Intersession was held during the week following students’ return from their winter vacation, before the start of the second semester. During the course of the program, students and faculty devoted all their academic attention to one course of their own selection; a course may explore a traditional academic topic in great detail, or it may focus on an area outside the traditional curriculum. At the end of the

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week, each class, in the manner that best fit its experience, presented its work to the wider community. The idea behind Intersession is to broaden the curriculum while creating opportunities for taking excursions, making, learning experientially, and performing interdisciplinary work. Beyond that, we hope that their experience in Intersession will influence how students and faculty approach their work in the traditional curriculum.

Some courses available in this year’s diverse catalog included Living Healthy: Connecting the Body, Mind, and Soul; Baseball Bats: Past, Present, Future; American Crazy: Isolation and Incarceration; and Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Zombies But Were Too Scared to Ask. There were also courses in cooking skills, life skills, the night sky, psychology, beekeeping, game theory, and Greco-Roman mythology. Most courses offered students the opportunity to take their learning experience outside

Fall Play

The 39 Steps

the classroom. For instance, students in the Understanding Personal Finance and Investments group visited the world headquarters of Goldman Sachs, where they met with Managing Director Stratford Dennis ’00 and learned about Goldman’s various businesses and the world of Wall Street finance, and visited the trading floor to see it in action.

Aspiring anglers in Fly Fishing and River Etymology enjoyed time on the Farmington River. During Photography; or, the Art of the Selfie, students wandered Hammonasset State Beach in Madison, Conn., and later traveled through the various marinas and boat yards in Essex. Joe D’Ambrosio, a well-known Connecticut sports personality, welcomed students from The Business of Sports to the WTIC 1080 station for a tour and presentation.

Intersession’s debut was a huge success, enjoyed by faculty and students alike. It is sure to thrive as a standout component of our curriculum for years to come.

The Old Farms Theatre Company returned to the stage November 12–14 to perform The 39 Steps, adapted by Patrick Barlow. Based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, which is in turn based on a novel, The 39 Steps retells the story of Richard Hannay, a man on the run from the police and a secret network of spies, with a comedic twist. After an encounter with a femme fatale, Hannay becomes dangerously intertwined with a plot to smuggle “top secret air ministry plans” out of the country. On his quest to reveal the plot and thus remove himself from police suspicion, he finds himself in some crazy situations that include underwear salesmen, a jealous Scottish farmer, and, of course, a girl.

Barlow’s adaptation highlights the absurdity of the story with its clichéd characters and contrived plot for a thoroughly entertaining night at the theater.

Rich performances from the cast, led by Parker Jensen ’17, Xavier Vega ’17, and seniors Benjamin Griffith and Holden Worth, had the Avon audience laughing at every turn. The play also featured strong performances from Miss Porter’s School students Maddy Tamms ’18, Catie Gillespie ’18, and Isabella Chan ’19 and would not have been possible without the help of a large and dedicated technical crew.

Chris Bolster directed the show with Ben Custer as assistant director and stage manager. James Kassel ran the technical side of the show as master builder, set designer, and crew chief.

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News and Notes

A Warm Welcome

Parents Weekend 2015

P

arents Weekend 2015 was one to remember.

After a warm welcome from Headmaster Ken LaRocque at morning meeting on October 23, parents braved a blustery day with their sons to attend classes and get a taste of day-to-day student life. After witnessing the rigors of Avonian academia, families enjoyed a delicious lunch in the field house followed by parent-teacher conferences and all-class meetings led by the school’s top administrators. Any families who found themselves with some time to spare had a chance to pick up some new AOF gear from the Cherouny Hawk’s Nest or stop by the annual book drive at the Baxter Library. The Parents Weekend Concert

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heralded the day’s end as Avon’s jazz bands, Chamber Ensemble, Chorale, Honors Chorale, Riddlers, and Sing-ed Beavers performed a wide and wonderful array of music for those in attendance.

Saturday began with another opportunity for parents to visit their sons’ teachers for conferences. After conferences, parents were invited to attend a talk and question session by celebrated boys psychologist Michael Thompson in the Brown Auditorium. Following lunch, they headed to the athletic fields to watch the Winged Beavers dominate their opposition, with every team winning its contest that day.

No classes met on Monday, so students and their families enjoyed some time to rest after an eventful weekend.

Thanks to all for making Parents Weekend 2015 a success.

The

Winged Beaver Yearbook Earns National Recognition

A

von has a long history of success with its school yearbook, the Winged Beaver, and the 2015 edition, Our Roots, was no exception. Our Roots won best high school yearbook for schools with fewer than 500 students from the ASPA, and won silver in the medalist critiques from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, which also analyzes writing, coverage, artwork, photography, design, and other factors.

An intensely dedicated group of students produced the award-winning 2015 Winged Beaver, led by coeditors Jason Filipe ’15 and Yusuf Mansoor ’15, co-assistant editors Jacques De Saint Phalle ’16 and Andrew Waltzer ’16, and faculty advisors Cristina Pinton and Kate McSpadden.

Pinton describes just how difficult the process of creating a yearbook can be: “We are under pressure from day one. We have a very small staff—in a good season, we’ll have four or five people—and considering our yearbook deadlines are earlier than most schools’, we end up working on about 40 pages per deadline, with the first one being more than 60 to submit

by November 16. We usually have about 176 pages to design, top to bottom, with graphics, copy, photographs, captions, and titles. There are also photographs of teams, games, dorms, individual students, clubs, student activities, academic classes, and so on. We have to incorporate all of these into the yearbook, and we

have to organize photographs that involve the entire school in one way or another. That is a huge challenge when there is so little time during the day. Fortunately, the community supports us.”

Though this process can be challenging, Pinton has nothing but positive things to say about the students she works with: “Our yearbook editors have always been unique characters, often incredibly intelligent, outside-the-box thinkers: boys who deeply care about the experiences we adults at Avon seek to offer them. Because of this, the staff tends to want themes that have symbolic potential to them; our afternoon discussions often become quite philosophical. ... The boys [who] come into yearbook are truly the silent ears and eyes of the school. Though sometimes we get editors who are a bit more unique in character and perhaps not as outspoken as others, they always turn into true reflective thinkers, learning real time management skills, and juggling multiple tasks on multiple levels.”

She also heaps praise on her “amazing” co-advisor Kate McSpadden, noting, “I tend to lead the visual end and, layout, and she the writing. She coaches the boys about the real power of their words and about intended meaning, symbolism, the use of clichés and abundance of grammatical mistakes!” When asked about progress on the 2016 Winged Beaver, Pinton hesitates to reveal too much, but her excitement is clear: “I will say we made some huge changes this year! We changed the chronology of the book itself and included some aspects of the school that have never before been included! The change, however, has made us start from scratch in almost every way, so I bet this next book will be even more amazing than the previous!”

We look forward to the finished product in May.

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News and Notes

Catching up with…

Ben Custer

It

may not have shocked anyone when Ben Custer ’10 joined the faculty at the start of this academic year; after all, the Custer legacy is one of the longest in Avon’s history, spanning four generations. Ben’s father, Art, is a long-serving faculty member, currently teaching history and serving as the dean of curriculum and instruction, and his mother, Michelle, teaches French. The Custer legacy dates back to John Sherman Custer—Ben’s great grandfather—who joined the faculty in 1930, and raised two sons, Tom ’36, and Ben’s grandfather, Edwin ’43. Both of Ben’s brothers are men of Avon as well: Charlie ’04 and Tim ’05. Tim joined the admission team from 2009 through 2011, and Ben’s cousin, Nathaniel, was on the teaching faculty from 2006 through 2009. However, Ben says returning to Avon Old Farms School was not always part of the plan—“at least not this quickly!” he says.

When the need for an English teacher arose rather suddenly, the timing was just right; Ben was already living on campus and looking for a job. “After some thought, I realized what a special opportunity it was to come back and have an influence on this generation of Avonians,” he

observes. “I get to live at a place I love, teach subject matter that I love, and interact with some really terrific young men.”

Ben jumped right in. He’s teaching English 3 as well as American literature since 1950, working as a dorm parent, and mentoring aspiring thespians as an assistant director and stage manager in the Old Farms Theater Company. Ben also returned to the journalistic roots he planted as a student at Avon, now serving as editor of the monthly eNews newsletter as well as assistant faculty advisor to the Avon Record. And though he’s quickly established himself as a busy young faculty member on campus, Ben is quick to note that old habits do, indeed, die hard.

“I cannot say that I am used to being the one serving food at dinner yet, and there are many faculty members I don’t think I will call by their first names, no matter how many times they tell me I can,” he observes. “It’s tough not joining the Avon Army while they’re getting rowdy on the sidelines of various athletic events, too. That’s something I miss about being a student. Honestly, if I didn’t have a large beard, I think I’d feel like a student a lot more frequently.

“I cannot say that I am used to being the one serving food at dinner yet, and there are many faculty members I don’t think I will call by their first names, no matter how many times they tell me I can.”

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The whiskers emerging at the bottom of my vision are a good reminder of my newfound authority.”

Ben’s recollection of and fondness for the Avon experience have lent him an empathetic perspective in his teaching practices, as he was so recently the one in front of the desk rather than behind it. “For one thing, I have a pretty good idea what these boys go through on a daily basis,” he explains. “I was in their place not too long ago and that gives me a degree of credibility that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

At the same time, I have learned and changed so much over the past five years that I can recognize what my biggest blind spots were when I left Avon, and those are the things I try to emphasize to the students. I don’t just want to echo the same platitudes that our students hear regularly, and hopefully by coming at things from a slightly different angle, I’m giving them new perspectives. That’s what I’m aiming for, at least.”

His educational experiences, too, have armed Ben with some unique tools to use both in the classroom and out.

An English and American literature major at Middlebury College, Ben was accepted as part of the school’s “Feb” program, meaning he did not attend the college until February, instead spending his first fall away from Avon in New Zealand. “The time I spent in New Zealand was hands down the happiest and most fulfilling period of my life so far. I was in an environmental protection program based right outside the capital city of Wellington. The other volunteers were from all over the world, and we spent our days working in places of breathtaking natural beauty.

“I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been the same since,” he observes. “I’m so much more open to new experiences and new people than I was before.”

Ben’s time in New Zealand was matched by the education he went on to receive at Middlebury: “The liberal arts education really did open my eyes to many different ways of seeing the world,” he says. “I can scrutinize my beliefs and opinions far more thoroughly and with much greater nuance than I could before, and that’s such an important process if you care about the truth. It’s easy to sleepwalk through life, and the learning I did at Middlebury is an invaluable defense against that.”

While Ben may have originally had other plans for himself, Avon is thrilled to have yet another Custer on campus. As he finds his feet in the classroom, one thing is for sure: he cannot deny the legacy of this village and the impact it has had on him.

“Avon is my home,” states Ben. “So much of who I am is tied up in this place, from my childhood through adolescence and now the beginning of my adult life. I think it would be hard to overstate the impact that the people and the culture of this campus have had on me; it’s something I would carry with me even if I left tomorrow and never came back. There’s no other place or group of people to which I feel so inextricably bound.”

A Veterans Tribute This fall, Avon broke ground on an exciting new project. The path leading down from the Beatson Performing Arts Center to the athletic fields has been inaccessible since September as work began to completely revamp and revitalize the area. The simple wooden stairwell and gravel path will be replaced with a paved walkway with a handrail and brownstone steps that match Theodate Pope Riddle’s iconic design. The highlight of the project, though, is the Veterans Tribute that will be placed roughly halfway down the hill. This tribute was an idea that began with the National Council, a group of alumni and friends of the school who meet twice a year to be ambassadors for Avon and to create new ways to better students’ experiences. What better way to enrich the boys’ education than to have a place to honor the many Avonians who have served their countries in times of war and peace.

The Veterans Tribute, protected from view from the Beatson Performing Arts Center with a grove of trees, will offer a somber, peaceful space for reflection, looking out toward Avon’s athletic fields and the hills beyond. Alumni veterans will be honored with inscriptions on granite benches where visitors can stop and rest, inlaid stones surrounding the area, and a Veterans Tribute monolith.

Rich Connell ’74, a principal at the S/L/A/M Collaborative, is the project’s architect and one of the many National Council members who have raised funds for this project. Their relentless passion will finally pay off as the school aims to finish the project in the upcoming spring and hold a dedication ceremony at Reunion 2016. We hope to see you then.

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Athletics

“Every time I put on the Avon uniform, I know I have to go out on the court or field and represent my school. It really is a thrill to go out on the court in front of the Avon Army and go all out.”

Athletic Spotlight

Packy Witkowski ’16 Patrick “Packy” Witkowski ’16 may have arrived at Avon a little late in the game—transferring as a junior—but he wasted no time establishing himself as a student leader on campus. A monitor in Diogenes Dormitory, Packy is captain of both the varsity basketball and varsity baseball teams. He’s also a member of the Nimrod Club and cofounder and co-president of the varsity starters student rock band.

Packy leads his teammates on the basketball court and was named MVP last year. His experiences as a Winged Beaver over the last two years have come to be among the most meaningful of his time at Avon.

“Every time I put on the Avon uniform, I know I have to go out on the court or field and represent my school,” he notes. “It really is a thrill to go out on the court in front of the Avon Army and go all out. My basketball, especially, has been an integral part of my experience and identity at Avon. It is really rewarding when the team competes in a hard fought win or loss, and everyone on campus is still supportive no matter the outcome. One of the most memorable moments was last year when the basketball team beat Salisbury. I was just having a great game, and ended up hitting the go-ahead three-pointer to take the lead as time expired. Then the Army stormed the court in excitement because a win over our rival is never taken lightly. I don’t think I will ever forget about that.”

Equally important to Packy is his music experience. A talented guitar player, he recently stunned audiences at the holiday music concert with a riveting solo performance. He 10

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plays in both the Super G jazz band and the New Avon Sound, Avon’s elite jazz band. Last spring, he was recognized with the best jazz soloist award at the annual Music in the Parks competition.

Despite the rigors of keeping up with schoolwork and his many extracurricular activities, Packy takes it all in stride.

“I try not to spend too much time on one aspect of my life, and instead try to have balance,” he explains. “The schedule at Avon allows for that perfectly and lets me explore these facets of my life everyday.

If you like doing something enough, you will always find time for it. I am never so overwhelmed with schoolwork that I do not have time to go work out, play guitar, or hang out with friends.”

A Headmaster’s List student, Packy clearly manages his many commitments with aplomb—but not without some hard work. He tries to keep in mind how fast the time is moving.

“The phrase I often hear around campus is ‘Avon: where the days are long and the weeks are short,’ and that is something that could not be more true,” he observes. “My time here is just flying by, but I think that is due to how rigorous it can be. I personally love an environment that is challenging because I think that is when I respond best. I have always been a motivated person, but attending Avon has definitely brought out more of my potential as a person in many ways. I knew that going to Avon would be a privilege, and I have always tried to treat it as such.”

We Are the Champions!

The 33rd Annual Christmas Hockey Classic

F

rom December 17 to December 19, Avon hosted its annual Christmas Hockey Classic tournament and, for the first time since 2006, finished in first place.

In addition to the Winged Beavers, the tournament includes Berkshire School, the Gunnery, Kent School, Loomis-Chaffee, St. Paul’s School, Tabor Academy, and Trinity-Pawling School. The first two days feature roundrobin action among the schools, which are organized into two divisions, the Pierpont and the Trautman; the final day features interdivisional matchups based on the earlier results.

Each year on the Friday night of the weekend, Avon hosts an alumni reception, welcoming parents, alumni, and friends back to campus in celebration of the season— the hockey season, of course. With delicious food and lively company, the reception was a fitting way to kick off what would become a victorious weekend.

Avon’s quest for the trophy began at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, when the team took on St. Paul’s School.

Avon cruised to a 7-1 victory with Patrick Harper ’16 and Jamie Armstrong ’16 each accruing two goals and one assist, Tyler Madden ’18 earning a goal and an assist, and

Jake Witkowski ’16 adding two assists. Avon opened at 11 a.m. on Friday, with a convincing 5-2 win over TrinityPawling School. Again, Harper picked up two goals and an assist, Witkowski added a goal and two assists, and Armstrong tallied two more assists. The Winged Beavers faced their toughest test that night when they beat a strong Tabor Academy team 1-0 with a goal from Dan Winslow ’16 and a 25-save shutout from goaltender Brandon Schellin ’17. The teams put forth a dizzying display of speed, but Avon’s quality proved too much in the end, sending the Winged Beavers to the championship game on the 19th against Kent School. Avon would not be denied its first Christmas Classic trophy in nine years as the team thoroughly dominated Kent in a 10-1 rout. Matty Horton ’16 and Tyler Madden ’18 each had a two-goal night, Harper filled up the score sheet with two goals and two assists, and Josh Vertentes ’17 added a goal and an assist. Avon’s success began at the back end with strong goaltending and solid positional defense, but the blistering speed and creative play in the offensive zone elevated the team above its competition and earned Avon its 19th Christmas Hockey Classic championship. Congratulations!

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Holidays 2015

COMFOR

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T

and

JOY there may be no place like home for the holidays, but avon old farms school

comes in a close second.

Trees are trimmed, halls are decked, and music rings out near and far. The spirit of giving brings the community together. And when students bid farewell to the year, headed home to their families around the world, they leave in the wake of the embrace of their Avon brothers.

“We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.”

This is the holidays at Avon Old Farms.

Holidays 2015

Oh, Christmas Tree The Nimrod Club, one of Avon’s oldest and most revered student groups, has long been tasked with one of the season’s most important honors: selecting and cutting down the majestic pine that stands tall in Riddle Refectory throughout the holidays.

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Christmas Vespers Each year, Christmas Vespers offers the community a time to reflect and rejoice. With the Chapel swathed in pine, students come together in song and contemplation. This year’s service featured performances from the Riddlers and readings from several faculty members and students, as well as a beautiful rendition of “Ave Maria,” sung

by Kelvin Boateng ’16 with John Park ’16 on cello and James Barnet ’16 on oboe.

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Holidays 2015 Toys for Tots The two weeks between the students’ return from the Thanksgiving holiday break and their departure for the winter vacation are full and festive. Most notably, the entire community rallies together to support Toys for Tots. This year’s campaign was as successful as ever, raising more than $23,000 .

Students participated in many different fundraising activities, culminating in a schoolwide drawing of prizes donated by faculty, staff, and members of the Avon community, along with items donated by local businesses. Members of the Student Council sold tickets to students and faculty members; proceeds from ticket sales, as well as proceeds from various other fundraising efforts, all went toward a shopping trip the night before the students left for their holiday break. Faculty and student volunteers traveled to a local Target store to comb the aisles for toys, games, sporting goods, and various winter weather necessities, all paid for with the proceeds from the Toys for Tots drive. After their shopping spree, the volunteers displayed all of the gifts onstage at the Brown Auditorium, greeting the school community at the last morning meeting of the year. At the conclusion of the prize drawing, several students and faculty members helped take the entire donation to Hands On Hartford, where parents in need selected toys and gifts for more than 500 children.

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Holiday Concerts Many Avon students shared their talents through wonderful performances at the holiday Chorale, Jazz, and Chamber Ensemble concerts. Under the direction of Robert Volo (jazz), Matthew Valenti (chamber) and Bryan Zaros (chorale), the musicians and guest performers who took the stagefilled the Beatson Performing Arts Center with sounds of the season, delighting audiences and raising holiday spirits.

The Village Green Winter 2016

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Holidays 2015

The Boar’s

Head Festival

The Annual Boar’s Head Festival, presented each year by the senior class and faculty member Art Custer, is a long-standing holiday tradition at Avon Old Farms School. The festival has barely changed over the last six decades.

The show is essentially a reenactment of a medieval feast; each member of the senior class plays a role, and vignettes

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are performed between courses. From the story of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus to a traditional Mummers’ Play of Saint George and the Dragon, and of course, an appearance

by Father Christmas, the joyous presentation is a treasured traditional way to say goodbye to the end of the year.

The script for Boar’s Head has not changed much since the 1950s, notes Custer, explaining that the event was particularly important to former Headmaster Don Pierpont, “who loved a good show.” Custer began helping out in

1982, when the director was Brad Mason, who had been an actor on Broadway earlier in his career. “He had a beautiful voice, and would sing ‘O Holy Night’,” recalls Custer.

He is also crucial in preserving the other important aspect of the Boar’s Head tradition: the telling of the Boar’s Head story at the final morning meeting of the year. “When I arrived, that was Seth Mendell ’52, who can spin a yarn with the best,” says Custer. “He was riveting.” Though he’s taken out a few of Mendell’s lines and added a couple of new jokes

of his own, “the basic story of the youth who chokes the boar with his book of logic is the same,” Custer explains.

“I have often said that someone who has a room such as the Refectory and fails to do Boar’s Head—or something like it—should have the room taken away,” observes Art. “The Refectory cries out for a medieval festival, and Boar’s Head does it justice.”

Our men of Avon bid farewell to 2015, arms intertwined, with a stirring rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” sung in union before departing for the winter vacation.

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Elephant The

Remembers…

John Gillespie Magee Jr. ’40 John Gillespie Magee, Jr. ’40

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J

ohn Gillespie Magee Jr., the son of British missionaries, was born in 1922 in Shanghai, China. He did a postgraduate year at Avon from 1939 to 1940, which was supposed to precede further study at Yale University, the school his father had attended. Magee quickly distinguished himself at Avon; one of his teachers called him “the most intelligent person who has ever come to the school.” He participated in the Diogenes soccer and crew teams as well.

“He is on bounds for having stated that he was going out to dinner on a Saturday night with ... a relative of his,” wrote an aide to the provost, Harold O’D. Hunter, in a letter to Mrs. James Verner Scaife, Magee’s guardian in the United States. In the letter, Hunter described an event involving John and two friends, a classmate as well as a girl from New York. John had stated this girl was a relative, which would have allowed him to get back to campus after midnight, but this was not true. Hunter concluded by stating that John seems “to be bright, clever, and charming but quite lacking in emotional stability which he should have at his age.”

This episode shows that offering excuses about being late for dormitory check is not a new phenomenon.

In the academic sphere, Magee’s final transcript for the year was provided in a letter written by Dean Richard H. Sears.

In English, the teacher commented, “He

From

the

Archives

Compiled by Carol Ketcham and Alex Tougas

“High Flight” is engraved on a plaque outside Riddle Refectory.

is himself literary and at home in literature.” He also did a solid job in Greek and Latin. In history, his teacher commented, “His accomplishment has slumped rather badly this last quarter”; even Magee was not immune to the senior slide.

As the Battle of Britain raged on, Magee, like many of his peers at Avon, joined the service, enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force after graduating from Avon in

the spring of 1940. He received his wings in the fall of 1941 at the age of 19, but in December of that same year, he had a fatal mid-air collision during a pilot training mission.

A budding writer, Magee had published a “handsome book of poems” while at Avon, with the help of printer Max Stein. Magee continued to write, and his greatest legacy is a poem, titled “High Flight,” inspired by his time in the air force. He wrote it on September 3, 1941, and it was published in the Avonian on November 20 of that year. Since Magee’s death, the poem’s status has been greatly elevated; pilots throughout the world are familiar with it, and President Ronald Reagan quoted from the poem after the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster.

Written as a paean to military pilots, the poem now appears in various air training schools and flying museums in the United States, UK, and Canada. It has also been set to music in various adaptations, including by John Edward Turner of the U.S. Air Force Academy Band.

The 1940 edition of the Winged Beaver yearbook summed up John’s year at Avon quite nicely: “It has been an especial treat this year to have the Avon campus graced by a young Englishman. John came from Rugby [a school in the UK] with refreshing thoughts and effervescent, Anglican vitality.”

At Avon Old Farms, we honor John’s memory for his contribution to our community as well as to the wider world, and to a life that was cut tragically short.

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A Legend of Truth The Last Word

A Chapel Talk by Henry Coons ’71 October 22, 2015

Rudyard Kipling Once on a time, the ancient legends tell, Truth, rising from the bottom of her well, Looked on the world, but, hearing how it lied, Returned to her seclusion horrified.

There she abode, so conscious of her worth, Not even Pilate’s Question called her forth, Nor Galileo, kneeling to deny The Laws that hold our Planet ‘neath the sky.

Meantime, her kindlier sister, whom men call Fiction, did all her work and more than all, With so much zeal, devotion, tact, and care, That no one noticed Truth was otherwhere.

Then came a War when, bombed and gassed and mined, Truth rose once more, perforce, to meet mankind, And through the dust and glare and wreck of things, Beheld a phantom on unbalanced wings, Reeling and groping, dazed, dishevelled, dumb, But semaphoring direr deeds to come.

Truth hailed and bade her stand; the quavering shade Clung to her knees and babbled, “Sister, aid!

I am--I was--thy Deputy, and men Besought me for my useful tongue or pen To gloss their gentle deeds, and I complied, And they, and thy demands, were satisfied.

But this--” she pointed o’er the blistered plain, Where men as Gods and devils wrought amain-“This is beyond me! Take thy work again.”

Tablets and pen transferred, she fled afar, And Truth assumed the record of the War...

She saw, she heard, she read, she tried to tell Facts beyond precedent and parallel-Unfit to hint or breathe, much less to write, But happening every minute, day and night.

She called for proof. It came. The dossiers grew.

She marked them, first, “Return. This can’t be true.”

Then, underneath the cold official word: “This is not really half of what occurred.”

She faced herself at last, the story runs, And telegraphed her sister: “Come at once.

Facts out of hand. Unable overtake Without your aid. Come back for Truth’s own sake!

Co-equal rank and powers if you agree.

They need us both, but you far more than me!”

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F

or the past month or so, you have been taking a longer route to the athletic fields, to bypass the construction of both an improved pathway to the fields as well as what will become a special place to pay tribute to Avon veterans.

Having a Veterans Tribute on campus where you will be able to reflect and appreciate the sacrifices and valor of our veterans is very meaningful to me: my grandfather, Henry Robert Coons, was a first lieutenant during World War I. He fought for 14 months in Europe, in the battles of Belleau Wood, the Second Battle of the Marne, and the Meuse Argonne Offensive. My father, Robert Henry Coons, landed on Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944. He never talked about that day, but when pressed, he recalled that an artillery shell exploded about 30 feet above his head, killing several soldiers around him, but leaving him unscathed except for some temporary loss of hearing.

The national draft lottery of 1972 occurred during my freshman year at Muhlenberg College. Its purpose was to determine which men born in 1953 were to be called for induction into the military.

Fortunately, my number—309 out of 365 possible numbers —kept me in college and out of Vietnam. I will never forget that night. Many of us literally dodged a bullet, but some of my college classmates were off to boot camp or Canada.

As director of alumni relations, I have gotten to know many alumni who have gone on to serve our country in times of both war and peace, and I have learned about the heroics of others through the stories of older alumni. Unfortunately, I have also learned about our alumni who have been killed on foreign soil.

One notable Avonian was John Gillespie McGee from the Class of 1940, who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as a fighter pilot following his graduation. In December 1941, he was killed during a training flight when his Spitfire hit another plane over Lincolnshire, England. He was only 19 years old. His memory lives on because three months before his death, he penned the words to “High Flight,” an inspiring poem that is known worldwide.

From 1944 to 1947, our campus was home to more than 850 servicemen who lost their sight during the war. They were here to recover from their injuries and to learn job skills. If you currently live in the main quadrangle, 70 or so years ago, a blinded soldier, sailor, or pilot would have been living in your room, working hard each day to put his life back together.

In November, Avon inducted Bill David from the Class of 1961 into the athletic Hall of Fame right before our varsity football team took on Exeter under the lights. At Avon, he was captain of varsity football, hockey, and baseball. At Washington and Lee University, he was named first team Little All-American in football. After college, David joined the Marines to fight in Vietnam, and rose to the rank of first lieutenant. On June 12, 1969, his company came under heavy mortar attack and automatic fire while on a mission to recover casualties from a battle. For his heroic display of courage under fire and decisive action on that day, he was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor.

I have taught U.S. history, and World War I has always intrigued me, as it was the first war in which the horrors of trench warfare, poison gas, machine guns, in which warplanes, tanks, barbed wire, and submarines were on full display. At the same time, it was supposed to be a “war to end all wars” and a “war to make the world safe for democracy.”

It did not quite work out that way. As part of my somber fascination with World War I, I developed an interest in some of the poetry of that period, especially the words of Wilfred Owen and Rudyard Kipling, both Englishmen.

Kipling, who lost his only son, John, in the Battle of Loos in September 1915, wrote my favorite poem of that era, “A Legend of Truth.” The poem expresses the sadness, disillusionment, despair, and hopelessness he felt following the loss of his son, and a simple observation: truth is always the first casualty of war, and the narrative always belongs to the victor. The poem also underscores the reality that making war is easy, but making and keeping peace is hard.

Recently, my wife, Marie, and I took a walk through Forest Park in Springfield, Mass., on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and we came upon the magnificent Barney Family Mausoleum overlooking Interstate 91 and the banks of the Connecticut River. In bold letters across the top of the monument are 11 words written by Thomas Campbell, an early-19-century Scottish poet: “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”

It is my hope, when the Veterans Tribute is completed, that every time you go down to the fields and make the climb back up, you will take a moment to think about your Avon brothers who served and made sacrifices for all of us. They will all live on in our collective hearts and minds.

“As director of alumni relations, I have gotten to know many alumni who have gone on to serve our country in times of both war and peace, and I have learned about the heroics of others through the stories of older alumni.”

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