Cannon Magazine - Summer/Fall 2023

Letter from the Head of School

I love this time of year. Our students and teachers welcome a new school year with excitement, wonder, curiosity, and a renewed sense of readiness for what may come with a fresh start.

I, too, bring a refreshed energy to this, my fifth year serving our school community. Over the past several years, we have shared unforgettable moments highlighted in this magazine, like state championships, student performances, and commencements. Together, we supported our students and teachers in the face of a global pandemic as they continued to teach and learn, no matter the circumstances. In recognition and admiration of our Cannon family, the theme for the school year, as covered in this magazine, celebrates our Community of Wholehearted Contributors.

This theme borrows from our vision:

Cannon School envisions a world of wholehearted and adaptive contributors.

As captured in this beautiful edition of Cannon Magazine, we genuinely are a Community of Wholehearted Contributors! We see students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends pouring their hearts into each opportunity presented at our

school. You will read about teachers’ passion and commitment to their students and craft, inspiring one another and our community. With courageous spirit, student-athletes fearlessly take on challenges with determination to win, matched only by their desire to build unparalleled team cultures. Creating boldly, student-artists “Go Beyond” by offering our community inspiring perspectives and fresh glimpses of humanity.

Not only do we experience this in the prospect of success, we also embrace opportunities to learn and grow as we travel our unique journey of growth. Personally, I am always grateful to be learning from my experiences, my colleagues, and our students and families in this Community of Wholehearted Contributors.

I wish you a school year filled with opportunities to embrace fun, success, kindness, and growth!

Warmly,

EDITORIAL STAFF

Jessica Abel ’15

Guest Writer and Editor

CANNON MAGAZINE SUMMER/FALL 2023

Cannon Magazine is published semiannually by the Office of Advancement. Send address changes to rriemersma@cannonschool.org

Lynda Abel Editor

Sarah Sooklal

Alumni & Alumni Parent Relations Manager

G. Christopher Jones Head of School

LEADERSHIP

HEAD OF SCHOOL

G. Christopher Jones

HEAD OF LOWER SCHOOL

Dr. Regina Nixon

HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

Carla M. Moyer

HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL

Fabio A. Hurtado

DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID

William D. Diskin

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE

Whit G. Brown

COMMENCEMENT

On May 26, 2023, 107 members of the graduating CLASS OF 2023 walked across the stage on Bryant Central Green to accept their diplomas and become the TWENTY-FIFTH GRADUATING CLASS of Cannon School.

Salutatorian Fen Cleveland bestows words of advice and encouragement upon his classmates.

“The magical part of life is that you always have the capacity to grow.”

– Fen Cleveland

“We are definitely a community that builds, but the most important building projects undertaken at Cannon School occur each and every day in the classrooms and hallways and on the athletic courts and fields. This place has helped the personal construction of each and every one of us.

I know I speak for all of us when I say, wholeheartedly, thank you. You have our infinite gratitude.

Cannon School is the foundation of our futures. As we pursue different paths, I look forward to the next phase of our construction project, and I’m excited to see what we will all build.”

– Leighton Evans

“...a place where memories were created, friends will always belong, and warmth resides.”

– Morgan Brown

Salutatorian and Cannon “lifer” Morgan Brown opens the Commencement ceremony and pays homage to her metaphorical “home”.

Leighton Evans engages the crowd and classmates as she delivers the Valedictorian Address. Evans is a “lifer”—a Cannon Cougar from Junior Kindergarten through Commencement.

We are proud to introduce the CLASS OF 2023

These 13 “lifers” have called Cannon “home” for 14 years.

“Did it!” Esther Burlington’s expression says it all.

Dean Tom Booker congratulates Liam Peterson and Quentin Clarke.

Anyia Brooks-Manning accepts her diploma from Head of School Mr. Christopher Jones.

Graduate Riley Selden is all smiles with Commencement Speaker— and mom—Dr. Kym Selden.

Maggie Scurlock gives her big brother, Jackson, a congratulatory hug.

Their

Joseph Levy, Fiona Chen, and Chase Hensley.

Class of 2023 Matriculations

The Class of 2023 will attend the following colleges and universities this fall.

American University

Appalachian State University

Arizona State University (Main Campus)

Belmont Abbey College

Boston College

Clemson University

Coker University

College of Charleston

Colorado School of Mines

Duke University

East Carolina University

Elon University

Franklin & Marshall College

Georgia Institute of Technology

High Point University

Louisiana State University

Miami University (Oxford)

Middle Tennessee State University

Middlebury College

Milligan University

North Carolina State University

Penn State University (University Park)

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

Savannah College of Art and Design

Sewanee: The University of the South

Southern Methodist University

Stanford University

Texas Christian University

The College of William and Mary

The New School

The University of Tampa

The University of Tennessee (Knoxville)

Tulane University of Louisiana

United States Air Force Academy

University of Aberdeen

University of California (Los Angeles)

University of Florida

University of Georgia

University of Miami

University of North Carolina at Asheville

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

University of North Carolina

Wilmington

University of Pennsylvania

University of South Carolina

University of Southern California

University of Vermont

University of Virginia (Main Campus)

University of Washington (Seattle Campus)

University of Wisconsin (Madison)

Vanderbilt University

Vassar College

Villanova University

Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Wake Forest University

Wofford College

T-shirts and chalk-drawn logos announce our seniors’ plans during the annual Decision Day celebration.

Our Junior Kindergarten/Senior Buddy program is an established tradition that gets right to the heart of our school’s mission statement: Nurturing Relationships. We pair our youngest students with our oldest to create a program that develops lifelong relationships and instills a bond within our Cannon Family.

Learn more about Cannon's Student Life Program:

Junior Kindergartners and their Senior Buddies bond over the excitement of Decision Day!

The Big Picture

Each year, Cannon Theater Company dazzles audiences with one-act plays and the winter musical, like Freaky Friday. The arts teach us how to be in community, to empathize, and to use our imagination, instinct, and intellect to solve problems, said Mr. Andy Macdonald, Director of Theater Arts.

TO SUPPORT CANNON’S ROBUST ARTS OFFERINGS ACROSS DIVISIONS, ARTS LEADERS AND EDUCATORS WORKED TO CREATE A NEW ARTISTIC MISSION AND VISION THAT BOLSTERS OUR SCHOOL’S IDEAL: THE ARTS ARE ESSENTIAL.

ON MANY DAYS—BEFORE THE MORNING BELL RINGS—ARTISTS AROUND OUR CAMPUS HAVE ALREADY BEGUN HONING THEIR CRAFT.

Starting at 7:30 a.m., students gather for Varsity Chorus, Band, and Orchestra, ensembles offered to musicians who want arts experiences beyond their class schedule.

As the official school day begins, arts experiences continue to energize the school. Visual artists of all ages may be exploring writing, painting, photography, or collage. Upper School students can take classes ranging from Creative Design and Engineering to Jazz Combo to Acting.

After the final bell rings, actors and stage technicians in Cannon Theater Company begin rehearsal in the Cindric Performing Arts Center. Students in third through sixth grade run lines for the Lower and Middle School musical. Visual artists put the final touches on their creations. 3D printers hum as they bring students’ ideas to life in The Mill.

For students of all ages, the arts provide an indispensable opportunity to learn, play, take risks, fail big, and create boldly.

To ensure every student has that opportunity, arts leaders Mrs. Krista Johns, Mr. Rob Burlington, Mr. Andy Macdonald, and leadership team arts liaison Dr. Regina Nixon dedicated last year to reimagining Cannon’s artistic mission and vision to support future generations of student artists.

‘NORTH STAR’

“I feel like the arts are interwoven into the fabric of Cannon School,” said Mrs. Johns, who began at Cannon as the Lower School Art Teacher in 2007 and, in 2022, accepted the position of Director of Visual Art.

Throughout her 16 years at Cannon, Mrs. Johns said she has witnessed the joy and empowerment creating brings learners at every level. For her, the opportunity to work with fellow arts leaders to help embolden a new vision for the arts was invigorating.

The official assignment came from Mr. Christopher Jones, Head of School, in the spring of 2022.

“We were tasked with looking at the arts, where we’ve been, where we want to go, and what the future holds,” Mrs. Johns said.

That task was one that would require insight from across Cannon’s community.

“We reached out to students, faculty, and parents,” said Mr. Macdonald, Director of Theater Arts. Those community members took part in an “I like, I wish, I wonder” exercise to share their experiences with—and hopes for—the arts. Common themes in the feedback included Cannon’s passionate arts educators, dedicated and talented students, and dynamic arts curricula.

Using that feedback, the arts directors worked in close collaboration with Dr. Nixon, Head of Lower School, to begin crafting the new arts mission and vision.

It would begin with a line from our school’s current arts mission statement: Cannon School believes the Arts are essential. Then, it would go further in depth, outlining the reasons the arts make a profound impact on learners of all ages and serving as a “North Star” for future curriculum decisions, extracurricular opportunities, and more.

VISUAL ARTS

“The arts touch every student in our school in one way or another,” said Mrs. Johns.

In the visual arts, one way Cannon supports students’ growth is by structuring lessons through the TAB— Teaching for Artistic Behavior—curriculum. The curriculum allows students to learn arts skills, processes, and techniques that they then use within their own work at their own pace. It also emphasizes skills beyond artistic projects, such as collaboration, risk-taking, and perseverance.

Mrs. Johns helped implement and pilot TAB in the Lower School in 2011 when she noticed that students at different artistic skill levels became frustrated with prescribed lessons.

“In a traditional art class, you hold up a piece of artwork and you ask students to copy what you've done,” said Mrs. Johns. “But not every student has the fine motor skills to do that.”

When students were able to learn and create at their own pace through TAB, she immediately saw a shift in her students’ engagement.

“When you're creating work that's based on your own experiences and interests, and you're not comparing yourself to anyone next to you, you're more willing to try new things,” she said. Once the success of the program in Lower School became clear, Middle and Upper School adopted the teaching method.

THEATER

The importance of creating a space to take risks, think critically, and make mistakes resonates with Mr. Macdonald, too.

Mr. Macdonald, who started at Cannon in 2012, teaches three levels of Acting in the Upper School and also directs Cannon Theater Company’s performances, including fall one-act plays and the winter musical.

Each year, one of his favorite teaching experiences is taking the fall play to the North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC). A weekend-long festival of performances, the conference invites high schools from across North Carolina to perform short plays in front of peer schools. Though the weekend ends with awards and accolades, the experience and judges’ feedback is what makes the festival so special, said Mr. Macdonald.

“What I love about NCTC is that you get to see everybody else’s performances, so students are being inspired by other schools, learning from others, and experiencing the excitement of performing not just on their own court.”

Creating community and acting with empathy were key components that arose during the “visioning” process, as were cultivating courage and developing innovative thinkers. Mr. Macdonald is witness to this from the first table read of a script to curtain call.

“It's about learning how to work in the real world,” he said of the theater program at Cannon. “Learning how to be in community, to empathize, to use not just your intellect—but your imagination and your instincts—to solve problems.”

MUSIC

Those traits are embodied by Cannon’s student artists across grades and disciplines, from Lower School students who explore rhythm and melody on glockenspiels and recorders to Middle School students who share their musical talents with Kindergarten classes. Another trait embodied by our students, said Mr. Burlington, Director of Music Arts, is to seek out opportunities to create beyond the school day.

Mr. Burlington, who began at Cannon in 2012, teaches Middle and Upper School Chorus and is the music director for the winter musical. He also founded the Upper School Varsity Chorus, an auditioned ensemble for students who want to make music outside their normal class schedules.

“There are 40 students in the Varsity Chorus this year,” said Mr. Burlington, adding that the group meets early in the morning a few times a week to rehearse music across genres. Students in the group may have had class conflicts that prevented them from taking chorus during the day, he said, or they may simply want more musical opportunities.

The group’s popularity led to the creation of Varsity Orchestra and Band, both of which also rehearse outside class hours. The ensembles go hand-in-hand with another core belief reflected in the new mission and vision: The Arts are essential to evolving each student’s sense of purpose and voice.

“We knew that we wanted to give students an opportunity to really shine,” said Mr. Burlington of the ensembles.

CREATIVE JOURNEY

Going forward, the new mission and vision will be a touchstone for the Cannon community on all arts decisions, one that the arts departments and leadership team alike are energized to have as a guiding philosophy.

“It’s been an honor to learn with the arts directors,” said Dr. Nixon, who helped guide and inform the process.

“As a leader it is my job to support and serve. And it’s an area that I am passionate about,” she added, noting that it is both a joy to experience the creative prowess of students as an audience member at Cannon and to create music in her personal life as a saxophonist.

Thinking about Cannon’s dedicated educators, Mrs. Johns agreed.

“As a team, we're all 100 percent committed not only to our own discipline, but to the arts as a whole,” she said, “and how we want to grow the arts at Cannon.”

Read the entire arts mission and vision statement on page 16.

“AS A TEAM, WE'RE ALL 100 PERCENT COMMITTED NOT ONLY TO OUR OWN DISCIPLINE, BUT TO THE ARTS AS A WHOLE AND HOW WE WANT TO GROW THE ARTS AT CANNON.”

ARTS MISSION and VISION STATEMENT

CANNON SCHOOL BELIEVES

THE ARTS ARE ESSENTIAL.

We believe the Arts are essential for developing driven, innovative thinkers. Through educational experiences that combine dedicated hard work and freedom to play, students learn to integrate analysis with imagination and instinct to generate ingenious solutions to creative problems.

We believe the Arts are essential for cultivating the courage and ability to learn by doing. Arts classes at Cannon challenge students to dive deeply into risky and rewarding processes that involve trial, error, and discovery in safe, supportive spaces.

We believe the Arts are essential to evolving each student’s sense of purpose and voice. Our talented visual arts, music, and theater faculty members commit to providing optimal environments for student growth, including space and time for self-expression and reflection as students work on mastering fundamental skills.

We believe the Arts are essential to expanding every student’s desire and ability to connect to their community and the world with empathy. Our students, educators, and families come together to advocate and create, using their collective voices to inspire and enrich our greater community.

Mrs. Claudia Velandia has helped students learn and grow for 16 years as a member of Cannon’s World Languages faculty. This year, she steps into a new role as our first Director of Diversity, Belongingness, and Engagement.

In Mrs. Claudia Velandia’s eyes, you cannot separate diversity, belongingness, and engagement; they are three parts of a whole, and understanding their relationship is instrumental to building a flourishing, connected community.

A self-described servant leader, Mrs. Velandia is an expert in building community. She began at Cannon in 2008 as a member of the Lower and Middle School world languages faculty.

“I treasure that time because that was my first experience teaching full time in America,” said Mrs. Velandia, who is originally from Bogota, Colombia. “The Lower and Middle School welcomed me with open arms and became my family.”

In 2014, she moved to the Upper School World Languages Department, and she became the World Languages Department Chair in 2019.

“The opportunity to work in all three divisions has provided me with a deep appreciation and love for this community,” she said, adding that her time as an advisor to students has been especially important to her.

Throughout her work across divisions, Mrs. Velandia has strived to create space

for the celebration of different cultures, experiences, perspectives, and traditions.

To do this, she begins by asking herself questions like, What can I do for our community? and How can I help bridge ideas and relationships? Not only does this create opportunities for deeper learning, she says, it also allows for a richer understanding of the curriculum.

Her values and experiences were what inspired her to apply to be Cannon’s inaugural Director of Diversity, Belongingness, and Engagement. She was honored to begin in the position this July.

In her new role, Mrs. Velandia works with Cannon leadership, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and parents to ensure Cannon's commitment to diversity, belongingness, and engagement (see page 19) is experienced wholeheartedly by every member of the community.

“We have a responsibility to help our students be prepared for the world, and the world is increasingly diverse and complex,” said Mrs. Velandia. “A person requires the right tools to be successful in that context.”

“We have a responsibility to help our students be prepared for the world, and the world is increasingly diverse and complex. A person requires the right tools to be successful in that context.”

CANNON’S COMMITMENT

TO DIVERSITY, BELONGINGNESS, and ENGAGEMENT

MANY INDIVIDUALS, MANY PERSPECTIVES; ONE MISSION, ONE SET OF CORE VALUES; KNOWING WE BELONG HERE.

OUR INDIVIDUAL AGREEMENTS:

We listen, learn, and grow.

We read and think critically to seek understanding. We model and practice curiosity. We welcome and engage in difficult conversations. We value proximity and practice perspective-taking. We question ideas; we nurture people.

OUR COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS:

We seek fairness.

We embrace and celebrate different cultures. We confront and address behavior that is harmful and hurtful.

We use processes that ensure identities do not predict outcomes. We explore decisions together, inclusive of many perspectives. We welcome all voices and share our experiences.

By the time Mrs. Paula Hylton reached the second chapter of Neuroteach: Brain Science and the Future of Education, she knew the text had the power to transform her teaching.

Mrs. Hylton, Upper School Psychology Teacher, first read the book in 2021 when Mr. Nate Rogers, Assistant Head of Upper School for Academics, introduced her to the text. Written by researchers Mr. Glenn Whitman and Dr. Ian Kelleher of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, Neuroteach shares the importance of mind, brain, and education science—in other words, understanding how the brain processes, stores, and retrieves information—and using that knowledge to better teach and learn.

“They’re talking specifically about psychological research, the material that I’m teaching upstairs, but centered on teaching,” said Mrs. Hylton, who teaches five sections of psychology, including AP and Honors classes.

She remembers thinking, “I need to know who these people are, and I need more of this.”

ALL LEARNERS, ALL LEVELS

The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, part of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, is dedicated to creating “a world where every teacher understands how every student’s brain learns.”

The vision is a harmonious match with Cannon’s mission to engage learners in a journey of growth. It also resonated deeply with Mr. Rogers and Upper School Department Chairs when they first read the book.

“There were lots of faculty members across divisions interested in thinking about how the best research-informed practices teach us to do better,” said Mr. Rogers, remembering their initial conversations.

Those research-informed practices include creating more opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and performance; designing frequent, formative, and low-stakes

assessments of learning; integrating the performing and visual arts into lessons; and understanding the roles that sleep and stress play in a learning environment.

The practices are applicable to all learners at all levels, regardless of subject matter. Whether students are studying math or history, English or music, the creation of lessons that integrate mind, brain, and education science benefits both teachers and students.

“One of the things that’s so awesome about this book is that it tells us what we can do better as educators,” said Mr. Rogers. “Then it challenges us to put that into practice.”

SUMMER ACADEMY

While Neuroteach created a buzz among Cannon faculty, Mrs. Hylton was hard at work furthering the relationship between Cannon’s community and the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning.

The Center offers a Summer Academy each year, a national gathering that provides in-depth, personalized training for teachers to further explore mind, brain, and education science alongside leading experts and fellow educators.

Mrs. Hylton knew the experience would be transformative. In spring 2022, she applied for a Kimbrough Fellowship—a faculty professional development award made possible by a generous grant from Mr. Lawrence Kimbrough—in hopes of attending the Summer Academy that July.

She and Mr. Fabio Hurtado, Head of Upper School, decided if just five teachers were interested in attending, it would be a success.

“Well, then I came back to him, and I had 15 people interested,” said Mrs. Hylton. It was clear: Cannon educators wanted to dive deeper into the intersection of cognitive science and formative teaching.

Through a partnership with the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning and the book Neuroteach, educators are working to bolster lifelong learning techniques and incorporate mind, brain, and education science in Cannon’s classrooms.

Those 15 faculty members from across divisions attended the Summer Academy under Mrs. Hylton’s Kimbrough Fellowship funding last July. In addition, Cannon became an official partner school of the Center in 2022, joining over 200 schools from 23 states and 15 countries in the partnership program.

And, Mr. Whitman, Neuroteach author and Director of the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, personally invited Mrs. Hylton and fellow Cannon teachers to visit St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and the Center in Maryland so the communities could learn from one another. They eagerly accepted.

One of the Center’s goals “is to help take the guessing out of the teaching,” said Mrs. Hylton, “to help you to have a better understanding of how to make something stick with your students.”

Inspired by lessons from Neuroteach, the Summer Academy, and meetings with the Center, she and leaders across the faculty were ready to create an environment at Cannon to help do just that.

A TEAM EFFORT

Mr. Rogers shared Upper School Department Chairs’ feedback with Mrs. Catherine Jones, Assistant Head of Middle School for Academics, and Mrs. Melissa Fox, Assistant Head of Lower School for Academics. Together, they decided Neuroteach was a book Cannon’s entire faculty should read and discuss as a community.

“In Upper School, we read a chapter of the book each month,” said Mr. Rogers. Then, with every chapter, each of the academic departments took turns leading a workshop to coincide with their chapter.

The first workshop? Dissecting sheep brains with the science department.

“They did this fabulous lesson on neurons and myelination,” remembered Mrs. Hylton, who was in the audience for the workshop. “And then they took us all upstairs, and they had the sheep brains ready to go.”

Neuroteach emphasizes the importance of teachers and students understanding the anatomy of the brain as a foundational component of mind, brain, and education science.

“It was a great introduction to the text, to actually get your hands on a brain,” Mrs. Hylton said, adding with a laugh that some faculty members sat closer to the dissection subjects than others.

Middle and Lower School educators followed suit in reading the book together.

“In Lower School, specifically, we’re going to continue to use our faculty meetings as learning times,” said Mrs. Fox, who shared that Lower School leadership read the book in 2022 in preparation for all faculty to read it this summer.

Middle School teachers presented what they were learning every month as they read. Mrs. Jones called the meetings “engaging and interactive.”

“We would use the chapters as a springboard for a conversation about teaching practice,” she said.

As a result of this momentum, another 15 Cannon educators attended the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning’s Summer Academy this July. A few returning Cannon faculty members accepted leadership roles, serving as facilitators to help guide new teachers through lessons on mind, brain, and education science.

Neuroteach emphasizes the importance of teachers and students understanding the anatomy of the brain as a foundational component of mind, brain, and education science.

Cannon educators were inspired by the Summer Academy over the last two years.

LIFELONG LEARNING

This school year, in order to practice the principles Cannon teachers learned while reading Neuroteach, all faculty members will divide into seven cohorts to continue to explore mind, brain, and education science in a collaborative, crossdivisional experience.

Through the cohorts, faculty will have the opportunity to choose which of the book’s principles are most meaningful to their class, brainstorm ideas and research with members of the Cannon faculty, and put those ideas into action to bolster learning in research-informed ways.

Mrs. Fox said the cohorts will cover a range of topics, including curriculum design, relational teaching, student wellness, assessment and feedback, and belongingness in the classroom (see page 19 for more on our commitment to diversity, belongingness, and engagement)

She also said that the opportunity to have “teachers teaching teachers” is like no other.

“Our teachers are the experts, so having them work together and guide one another—our students are only going to benefit.”

Cannon and the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning have committed to their official partnership through 2024, and the lessons from Neuroteach will continue to drive transformative learning in our classrooms for years to come.

“As a teacher, you are constantly thinking and rethinking the way you teach and what works best for students,” said Mrs. Jones. Her hope is that the culture of learning from one another’s challenges and successes “becomes part of our fabric.”

As both an educator and a Cannon parent to Grace ’33 and Hope ’37, Mrs. Hylton envisions a learning environment that is dedicated to each learner’s holistic needs.

“A lot of my teaching has changed,” she said. “When I sit down with students to go over a test, we are not just talking about the content anymore. It is about the child’s [whole experience].”

This, she hopes, will create a chain reaction of learners helping learners for the long run.

“We’re not complacent,” agreed Mr. Rogers. “We are very much a school—our faculty is very much a faculty—that wants to grow and improve. And one of my long-term hopes is that through Neuroteach we are both using what we read and testing what we do to make sure we’re being the best educators we can be.”

Cannon faculty members wear their Neuroteach-inspired T-shirts.

One of the Upper School Neuroteach workshops featured a sheep brain dissection.

Cannon Athletics

Mr. Brian McAleer comes to Cannon with over two decades of experience in education and a passion for creating collaborative, growth-oriented learning environments for student athletes.

Originally from West Nyack, New York, Mr. McAleer was the Director of Athletics at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey, for 11 years before becoming the school’s Director of Alumni Relations in 2019. Prior to his position as the Director of Athletics, he served as the Director for Admissions for Don Bosco and also coached the school’s freshman lacrosse team.

Mr. McAleer is a graduate of St. Joseph's University. He earned his master’s in educational leadership supervision and administration from the College of Saint Elizabeth and his master’s in teaching physical education and sports pedagogy from Manhattanville College. He is the proud father to his 11-year-old daughter, Caitlin, and eightyear-old son, Matthew.

What drew you to Cannon and Cannon athletics?

I have worked in education for 24 years, and Cannon’s culture is something I have never seen before. I was so impressed by the connections the students have with one another and their teachers, and by the support the teachers give each other and their students. That’s what drew me, and I would like to thank Christopher Jones, Carla Moyer, and the Athletic Director search committee for their support and the opportunity to join the Cannon community.

What are you most looking forward to in your first year as Cannon’s Athletic Director?

I am looking forward to getting to know Cannon’s student athletes and to creating relationships between Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School athletics.

I am also excited to work with my tremendous Cannon athletics

teammates, including Kevin Steuer, Shawn Powell, Isaiah Coleman, Craig Reynolds and all our coaches, trainers, and staff members. They should be so proud of their accomplishments as a team, and I’m thankful to be able to work with them.

What qualities make the best coaches?

Great teachers make the best coaches. It is about making a positive impact on our student athletes’ lives, instilling trust in one another, and exemplifying excellent character. If you do those things the right way, winning is going to be a byproduct of it.

How do you define athletic success?

When, after graduation, students can come back and say that what they learned through athletics helped them navigate adversity or taught them the skills they’d need in life—that defines success.

Which teams do you root for (other than the Cannon Cougars, of course)?

Well, now that I am in North Carolina, I am rooting for the Panthers! I was an L.A. Rams fan growing up. Then I moved to Philadelphia for school and, in Philadelphia, you do not have a choice: you are an Eagles fan. My two New York teams are the Yankees and the Rangers.

What are some of your favorite ways to stay active?

I am a former lacrosse player and coach, but I hung up my cleats long ago. When I graduated college, I picked up running. I ran two New York City Marathons—in 2003 and 2004—in honor of a friend who passed away in 9/11.

Since recovering from a hip replacement in 2015, I have moved from running to cycling and yoga.

What qualities make an athlete a wholehearted contributor on and off the field?

A wholehearted contributor is somebody who is out in the community making a positive impact. A priority of mine is to make sure that our student athletes are using the wonderful opportunities they have at Cannon to give back.

Boys Varsity Lacrosse Defend State Championship Title

As spring arrived, the talk within the NCISAA conference was that Cannon’s boys varsity lacrosse team was “the team to beat.” Anything less than a repeat of their 2022 state championship would defy expectations, and that was simply not going to happen.

“The team set their goals to start the season and put in the work to achieve them. We had a few setbacks and overcame some injuries, but always stayed focused on the goal. We concentrated on every player contributing and playing as a family over individuals,” said Head Coach Mr. Steve Schattner, who was named Coach of the Year by The Charlotte Observer

The boys varsity lacrosse team successfully defended their state championship title by dismantling their opponent, 20-4. With an impressive 20-3 season record, the team’s hard work and commitment was evident throughout the season.

“Watching them play together this season was a testament to their coaching and their focus on getting to—and winning— the championship game,” said Mr. Craig Reynolds, Assistant Athletic Director. Graduating seniors Will Crispino, Brayson Wilson, and Liam Peterson have paved the way for the underclassmen and returning powerhouses Will Swartz ’24 and Brevin Wilson ’24.

The team looks forward to another championship opportunity next season.

Making History

Congratulations to our inaugural girls Middle School lacrosse team for bringing home the Greater Charlotte Middle School Athletic Association (GCMSAA) conference championship!

Varsity Softball Defeats Reigning Champions to Win NCISAA State Title

“Whatever it takes” was the varsity softball team’s mantra this year, born after last year’s defeat in the championship game. Last season, in the best-of-three finale, they lost the title to Charlotte Christian in the third game. Though heartbreaking at the time, it was the motivating factor the team needed.

Heading into the 2023 spring season, the team’s mission was to return to the championship game and win the elusive title. The girls set aggressive goals for their batting average, on-base percentage, and number of home runs—and surpassed every goal.

Their commitment paid off. The team won the NCISAA State Championship, defeating the two-time reigning champions in two games.

“We played the toughest schedule of all independent schools and realized that we can play any team in the state—public or private—of any size,” said Assistant Coach Mr. Chris Evans.

Congratulations to our state champions!

CONGRATULATIONS

CISAA SPRING 2022-2023

BASEBALL

Second Team All-Conference

Mason Mierzwa

GOLF

First Team All-Conference

Coleman Ward

Second Team All-Conference

Aiden Clark

BOYS LACROSSE

First Team All-Conference

Brayson Wilson –CISAA Player of the Year

Will Crispino

Quinn Falasca

Cole Frood

Ben Maynor

Will Swartz

Brevin Wilson

Second Team

Quin Frood

Liam Gibbons

GIRLS LACROSSE

Second Team All-Conference

London Barnhardt

Ella Kungl

Elliette Zukowski

GIRLS SOCCER

Second Team All-Conference

Brianna Caginia

ALL-CONFERENCE ATHLETES

SOFTBALL

First Team All-Conference

Brie Biddle –

CISAA Player of the Year

Jolie Matthews

Maddie Sturgill

Second Team All-Conference

Nicole Ratterman

Kenzie Sturgill

Layla Wagner

BOYS TENNIS

First Team All-Conference

Isaac Szilagyi

Second Team All-Conference

Cole Haigney

BOYS TRACK & FIELD

First Team All-Conference

Quentin Clarke (400m)

Second Team All-Conference

Grant Springate (High Jump)

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

First Team All-Conference

Teri Pridgen (400m)

Second Team All-Conference

Teri Pridgen (200m)

Ellery Biehler (Pole Vault)

NCISAA SPRING

2022-2023

ALL-STATE ATHLETES

BOYS LACROSSE

Will Crispino

Quinn Falasca

Cole Frood

Ben Maynor

Will Swartz

Brayson Wilson

Brevin Wilson

SOFTBALL

Brie Biddle

Jolie Matthews

TENNIS

Isaac Szilagyi

BOYS TRACK & FIELD

Quentin Clarke (400m)

Joseph Earl Levy III

Alexander Friedli

David Wheeler

Quentin Clarke (4x400m)

Thank you for your generosity!

FUNDRAISING

$630,241 OUT OF A GOAL OF $625,000

BY THE NUMBERS

Educator giving for the 15th straight year 100%

raised $47,000 raised from grandparents

Board of Trustees giving 100%

429 current families gave

66 new families gave

187 people gave at a Cannon Society Level

Cannon Fund

On behalf of Cannon School’s students and educators, thank you to everyone who supported the Cannon Fund this school year. We are grateful for our community’s dedication which helped us achieve a record-breaking number raised for the Cannon Fund—a number that supports our students’ learning and growth year over year. Like all independent schools, Cannon covers a sizable portion of our annual operating costs through the Cannon Fund. We are thankful to everyone who stepped up and generously gave back this year.

WHAT THE CANNON FUND PROVIDES:

$46,000 raised from alumni parents

$8,000 raised from alumni

$1,602 average gift size

• Print and online resource materials for our libraries

• Updated laptops and iPads

• Music and art supplies, instruments, scripts, and sheet music

• Stipends for our athletic coaches

• Financial Aid for our students

• Uniforms for our athletic teams

• Professional development for our educators

• Outfitting the arts studio and esports lab

• Alumni programming

WHOLEHEARTED CONTRIBUTOR: Kelvin Drakeford ’08

Coach Kelvin Drakeford ’08, Head Coach of varsity girls basketball and Lower School Physical Education Teacher, is entering his eleventh season at Cannon and his sixth season as Director of the girls basketball program. Previously, he spent five seasons with the Cannon boys basketball program as the Junior Varsity Head Coach and Varsity Assistant.

A Cannon alumnus, Coach Drakeford competed for the Cougars and went on to play for Catawba College. He believes in giving players confidence, leading with love, teaching with purpose, expecting greatness, and turning failure into growth. We sat down with Coach Drakeford to hear more about his time in the Cannon family.

What is your favorite Cannon memory?

One of my favorite Cannon memories is from my senior year. At the all-school assembly, my friends and I had Mr. Gossage come up and do the Soulja Boy “Crank That” dance in front of the entire school. It was such a cool moment for Mr. Gossage to do that.

The other memory that will always hold the place in my heart is coaching the girls basketball program to the first-ever state championship win at Cannon School. We were able to play that game on our home court and celebrate with friends and family.

What brings you the most joy in coaching our girls basketball team?

The biggest joy I get from coaching the girls basketball team is being involved in the year-round development process. Success doesn’t happen overnight. I enjoy seeing our players put in work as a team to reach our common goals during the regular season, November through February. Once the regular season is over, they strive for growth as individuals from March through October. I take pride in seeing our players develop into good people. The lessons that we learn on the court can always be applied off the court as well.

What Cannon Core Value resonates with you the most?

Passion, without a doubt. I have a passion for teaching and seeing the “ah ha” moment when it finally clicks. I have a

passion for coaching basketball and helping players develop their skills and reach their goals.

What is your favorite thing about your children attending Cannon?

My favorite thing about my children attending Cannon is that they absolutely love going to school. My oldest son, KJ, looks forward to being at school with his friends and teachers every day. His experience with his teachers has been amazing. They have been kind and caring, and they push him to grow as an individual in all areas of his life. My middle child, Liam, will be starting in Junior Kindergarten this fall, and I look forward to being able to see him blossom in the hands of lower school teachers and while teaching him in PE.

Who is your role model?

I can’t pinpoint one specific role model. My parents instilled hard work in me. They worked to give me the opportunity to attend Cannon when I was in high school, and that has taken me a long way. My high school basketball coach, Ron Johnson, helped develop me into a young man that was prepared to take academics head on and play college basketball at the same time. Jim Baker, my coach at Catawba College, helped prepare me for life after basketball. Ché Roth is one of my closest friends and colleagues at Cannon. He has been a great shoulder to lean on and has helped guide me into being the man, father, husband, and coach I am today.

What do you hope is your legacy at Cannon?

When I think about my legacy, I hope people remember me as authentic. One of the best things about Cannon’s community is that they have allowed me to be myself as a student, coach, and teacher. As a coach, the wins and accolades are cool, but they don’t define me. I am relational, passionate, and kind. When it is all said and done, I hope people say that I cared about Cannon and that I wanted the absolute best for this place.

The 2023 Cannon School

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS

Bethany Corbin ’08 | Distinguished Alumni Award

As a healthcare innovation and femtech attorney, Bethany is on a mission to help thought-leading companies revolutionize the global women’s health sector. She is the founder of FemInnovation, which helps founders, clinicians, politicians, and advocates transform and disrupt “standard” care delivery for women’s health through specially tailored legal and educational programs, thought leadership, and advocacy. Bethany is a recognized leader at the intersection of women’s health, law, and technology, and was named a Top 200 Trailblazing Leader in Women’s Health and Femtech. She is a recipient of the 2023 Champion in Healthcare Award and her strategic insights have been featured in top news outlets, including Forbes, Fortune, BBC, NPR, Buzzfeed, The Atlantic, VICE , Cosmopolitan, and Teen Vogue. Bethany has testified about the importance of data privacy for reproductive health before the Maryland Cybersecurity Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Consumer Privacy and is an Advisory Board Member for Kisaco Research’s

Women’s Health Innovation conference series. Her guest episode on the HIT Like a Girl Podcast discussing the impact of the Dobbs decision won a 2022 Power Press Award.

Bethany is the editor and co-author of the forthcoming book, “Innovating in Healthcare – Legal, Entrepreneurial, and Ethical Considerations” and co-edited the book “Health Care Contracts: A-Clause-by-Clause Guide to Drafting and Negotiation.” Her work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and numerous law review journals.

Bethany credits her success to the entrepreneurial mindset she developed while at Cannon. She is the creator of Project Wrap-In, a beloved Cannon tradition that not only provides holiday toys to children’s charities but also promotes a strong sense of community and belonging. This past December, Project Wrap-In celebrated its 16th year as a Cannon tradition and, since its inception, Project Wrap-In has donated over 15,000 gifts to children in need. Bethany views Project Wrap-In as one of her greatest accomplishments and has returned to campus several times to participate in the gift-wrapping festivities.

Read more at alumni.cannonschool.org/page/distinguished-alumni-awards

Justin Weaks ’08 | Distinguished Alumni in the Arts

Hailing from Concord, NC, Justin Weaks is an award winning actor, poet, artist educator and theater maker. As an educator, he has worked with companies such as Shakespeare Theater Company, Young Playwright’s Theatre, The National Players, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Shakespeare & Company, and most recently SAY (Stuttering Association for Young People) teaching and mentoring the next generation of thinkers, writers, and artists. After embarking on a national tour and a year-long stint as an artist in residence at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Weaks relocated to Washington, DC, where they have now become a mainstay artist. Weaks has premiered work at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, commissioned solo work at various theaters and is a Company Member of the nationally renowned, Tony Award-winning Woolly Mammoth

Theater Company. He was most recently seen as Belize in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches at Arena Stage. Weaks is an active member of the Actors Equity Association. In addition to holding a position as a member of their Company of Artists, Weaks is also a part of Woolly Mammoth Theater’s inaugural cohort of Weissberg commissioned writers. His solo play A FINE MADNESS will be produced at Woolly Mammoth Theater in the spring of 2024. He is the final recipient of the Boomerang Artist Grant for his performance in Word Becomes Flesh at Theater Alliance in 2017. For his work in BLKS at Woolly Mammoth Theater, he received the 2020 Broadway World Award for Best Actor in a Play. In May 2023, he received the prestigious Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play for originating the role of ‘T’ in There’s Always the Hudson written by Paola Lazaro of AMC’s The Walking Dead He holds three Helen Hayes Awards and five nominations for his work. He is a proud alumnus of Greensboro College in Greensboro, NC. Justin currently lives in New York City.

Eddie Alcorn ’04 | Alumni Service Award

Eddie Alcorn has made a habit of giving back to communities and experiences he participated in over the years. After graduating from Cannon School in 2004, he returned to teach Upper School science and math for two years and served as the Alumni Board president through 2018. After attending UNC-Chapel Hill for undergraduate and graduate studies, he returned to volunteer as a coach of the club Ultimate team and taught graduate courses in health care

statistics and operations research. He also has gone on to coach professional women’s Ultimate and teach courses at North Carolina Central and Wake Forest. Eddie’s day job is geriatric social worker at the Durham VA, working in home health for people living with dementia and their care partners. He and his wife, Sarah, met while volunteering at a student-run free health clinic, which introduced them to underserved populations in the Triangle area. They have been licensed foster parents since 2020, and Eddie is teaching trauma-informed courses to foster parents across North Carolina. As you can see from the picture, he is getting pretty close to donating his hair again.

After graduating from Cannon School, Hannah Yanetsko embarked on a flourishing career as a contemporary fine artist working with galleries and interior designers across the United States. She is currently represented by Art & Light Gallery in Greenville, SC, and Bohlert Massey Interiors in Inlet Beach, FL. Her works have been featured in well-known

publications, including Southern Living. Notably, her art was prominently featured in the Southern Living Idea House 2022, located in River Dunes, NC. Additionally, she had her first solo art show at the James Beard award nominated restaurant, The Anchorage in Greenville, SC, and has several pieces featured at Milkbread restaurant in Davidson, NC. Hannah’s latest collection achieved tremendous success, selling out at The Other Art Fair hosted by Saatchi in Brooklyn, NY. Hannah looks forward to exhibiting with TOAF in Los Angeles, Dallas, and London, with plans to open her own studio gallery, HSYA, in North Carolina.

Monty Coggins | Distinguished Faculty Award

Monty came to Cannon School in 2005, following his friend and mentor Tony Almond, to serve as Science Department chair and science teacher. He was welcomed and empowered by the vital and strong Cannon community. During the 12 years he taught at Cannon, he established a Marine Science class that engaged students in the wonders of the ocean and allowed them to set up and maintain their own marine environments in aquaria in the classroom and around the building. The Marine Science class made an annual trip to the Florida Keys to integrate the course into the natural world through snorkeling over reefs, identifying organisms, and exploring marine ecology. In 2010, Monty was certified as a yoga

teacher and began offering classes after school to groups of teachers and students. Then, with the assistance of Maryclaire Farrington ’15, he established a yoga program as part of the curriculum. Students in the class practiced yoga, studied yoga philosophy, and learned to teach yoga. Those students taught classes to other middle and high school students, spreading the benefits of yoga widely across Cannon and beyond. Monty also organized multiple 200-mile relay races that included many Cannon alumni and Cannon faculty in locations including eastern North Carolina, the North Carolina mountains, and the national parks of Utah. Monty was instrumental in hiring all of the science teachers currently teaching in Upper School, whom he considers the best teachers anywhere. He left Cannon School in 2017 to pursue travel, community, and growth in all its forms. His greatest honor is teaching his children: Carson ’09 and Caroline ’12.

Hannah Yanetsko ’16 | Young Alumni Award

Stay Engaged

Class Reunions

Join us on campus for class reunions for all alumni celebrating each class every five years

Magazine Class Notes

Submit your life updates including weddings, babies, job changes, and awards to be featured in Cannon Magazine’s latest issue

Homecoming/ Alumni Weekend

A weekend to celebrate YOU! Alumni tailgate before the game along with raffles and activities

Distinguished Alumni Awards & Athletic Hall of Fame

Celebrate your fellow alumni being honored with these awards

Affinity Games

Come back and see teammates and enjoy scrimmages

Campus Drop-In Events

Visit campus for a casual drop-in event to catch up with beloved faculty and other alumni

Alumni Holiday Mingle

Come together at the holidays and enjoy our Alumni Jazz Band Alumni Snapshots

Let’s celebrate YOU! Submit an update to be featured on our social media

On Friday, August 11, we welcomed back more than 20 soccer alumni including our Cannon School Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Vicky Bruce. The alumni went home with the win!

Fall Alumni Events

Homecoming

Come cheer on the Cougars with old friends and celebrate Football and Cheer alumni on this special evening! We will have snacks, swag, and raffle prizes!

Friday, September 23, 2023

7:00 p.m. | Randy Marion Field

Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony

Alumni & Alumni Parents are invited to attend and celebrate our newest Distinguished Alumni award winners.

Saturday, September 24, 2023

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Alumni Swim Meet & Breakfast

Join the team for a practice and games at the YMCA or just stop by for breakfast at the school after practice!

Friday, December 15, 2023

6:00 - 8:00 a.m.

Alumni Basketball Night

Come out to cheer on our Varsity Boys & Girls team and catch up with other alumni.

Friday, December 15, 2023

5:30 p.m.

Holiday Mingle

Featuring the Alumni Jazz Band

Come catch up with friends, enjoy the brewery, and listen to our awesome alumni jazz band lead by Mr. Brad Davis!

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

7:00 - 9:00 p.m. | Cabarrus Brewing Co.

Please RSVP for events at alumni.cannonschool.org

On Monday, May 22, we welcomed back our lacrosse alumni to Randy Marion Field! The alumni players gave an awesome effort and enjoyed pizza after the game.

THANK YOU ALUMNI BOARD!

Our Alumni Board is crucial in keeping our alumni engaged and helping plan for the year ahead. We are grateful to our new members for their contributions. We are excited about the year ahead!

ALUMNI BOARD MEMBERS 2023-2024

Hillary Gruce ’08, McKenna Koch ’20, Hayden Keziah ’10, Hailey Foreman ’13, Annie Earnshaw ’17, Brandon Wade ’15, Erin Mason ’16, Chandra Pridgen ’21, and Ryan Chen ’22.

If you are interested in joining the Alumni Board please contact alumni@cannonschool.org

CLASS OF ’03, ’08, ’13, and ’18

SAVE THE DATE

6:00 P.M. TO 9:00 P.M. |

DETAILS AND RSVP

www.cannonschool.org/alumni-reunion

See how the campus has changed, enjoy drinks and bites, and catch up with your favorite friends and teachers!

2006

Jill Keeler lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and works with high school athletes as a Certified Athletic Trainer. She also owns her own business, ROAM (Resilience, Optimization, Alignment, and Movement) Fitness. ROAM Fitness works to help people at all levels enhance their athletic performance, move better, and find pain relief.

2008

Manny Provenzano and his wife welcomed their daughter Cora Arlette Provenzano — weighing seven pounds, 11 ounces — on March 6. They are blessed to have two beautiful little girls and cannot wait to see them grow up together.

Allison Jarrett Zegeer welcomed John McCarus “Mac” Zegeer and David Warren Zegeer on April 19, 2023.

2011

Madeline Hurley Jones currently works as a Senior Partnerships Manager for Serino Coyne, the nation’s longest-running live entertainment advertising agency. This past spring, she worked closely on campaigns for Kimberly Akimbo, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and Topdog/ Underdog, winner of the Tony Award for Best Revival. She has worked on marketing campaigns for over 25 other Broadway shows, including Wicked,

Class Notes

Dear Evan Hansen, The Lion King, and Shucked. Madeline lives in Manhattan with her husband, Andrew.

Olivia Osborne was awarded the F-31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Fellowship, which fully funds her studies and work at the University of Miami. Her research proposal is called “Ischemic Stroke in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy: Microvascular Injury and Recovery.” Through this research, she will study the impact of amyloid beta plaques in the brain on ischemic stroke outcomes as well as neurogenesis of neural progenitor cells.

2015

Joanna Copio graduated from The Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine on May 7, 2023. She was awarded the ASLAP Veterinary Student Award in recognition of her extraordinary accomplishments in Laboratory Animal Medicine. Prior to graduating, Joanna conducted research at the University of Missouri Genomics Core and Bioinformatics and Analytics facility as part of an Animal Scholarship program. The study, which she co-authored, was published in Scientific Journal Cell Reports. She also earned the Jules and Ruth Cass Clerkship award from the American College of Laboratory Animal Sciences.

Cora Arlette Provenzano

“Mac” (left) and David Zegeer

Dr. Stacey Meeker, Assistant Professor of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, and Dr. Joanna Copio

Jill Keeler

Madeline Hurley Jones holds a Tony Award

Olivia Osborne

Class Notes

2015

Madeleine Farrington got engaged to Ryan Kerr in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, on July 4, 2023.

Jaillin Johnson’s most recent series, Sweet Nectar, Sour Note, was displayed as part of The Phygital Funk: Digital Creators show in Charlotte. Her work was focused on the direct correlation between the past and present of the African diaspora as well as the effects on the mind of systemic conditioning or containment. Her installation prompted both social and physical interaction from gallery viewers.

Joelle Parkin married Joseph Vaccaro on July 15, 2023. They met their senior year at Cannon in Mr. Chris Taylor’s math class. They enjoyed their class trip to Montreat and have been in love ever since. They attended North Carolina State University together and now live in Concord once again! Joseph works in finance at TIAA, and Joelle owns a Woof Gang Bakery and Grooming salon.

2016

Rachel Harris was nominated for the Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer for Mr. Withers, a new work by David Parsons, which premiered at The Joyce Theater in New York City in March 2023.

2017

Kendall Applegate accepted a job at Davidson College as the Assistant Director of Marketing and Promotions for the athletics department. She is enjoying her time as the head marketing and promotions contact for Men’s and Women’s Basketball! She is happy to be back home in Davidson and working alongside her father, who is the college’s Senior Associate Athletic Director. She is looking forward to what comes next in college athletics.

2019

Sané Davis is in her final year of college at UNC Greensboro. She is majoring in marketing with a minor in accounting. She is a member of the Neo Black Society’s Gospel Choir. She is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, which hosts educational and service events for the community. When she is not in Greensboro, she is in WinstonSalem at her internship-turned-part time job. She enjoys coming back to Cannon to watch her cousin play on the girls varsity basketball team.

Mary Morrison was honored to give the Furman University Student Commencement address at her graduation on May 6, 2023.

Jaillin Johnson

Joseph Vaccaro and Joelle Parkin

Rachel Harris

Ryan Kerr and Madeleine Farrington

Kendall Applegate

Sané Davis

Mary Morrison

2021

Reigan Richardson spent her freshman year at the University of Georgia where she was a member of the women’s basketball team. After completing her first year at Georgia, she transferred to Duke University where she plans to graduate in 2025 with a degree in math.

2022

Karon Boyd will be playing small forward on the men’s basketball team at East Tennessee University this season.

We love to keep up-to-date with our alumni!

Please submit any life changes, updates, and details that you wish to share.

Questions? Contact Sarah Sooklal, Alumni & Alumni Parent Relations Manager, at alumni@cannonschool.org. alumni.cannonschool.org/page/ class-notes-submission

Class Notes

In Memoriam

Elizabeth Rubens ’11 passed unexpectedly on May 4, 2023. Elizabeth was a Cannon lifer, attending from Junior Kindergarten through senior year. After graduating from Cannon, she attended Belmont Abbey College and graduated Cum Laude with a history degree. She then moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where she worked at Charleston County Public Library for four years. She returned to Davidson to start a nonprofit mobile children’s bookstore where she was lovingly known as “LizzyLou The BookFairy.”

Charles Elbot, Head of School from 1981-1988, died on May 19, 2022, in Denver, Colorado. Charles held a B.A. from Wesleyan College and M.Ed. from Harvard University. At the time of his leadership, the school was operating as Cabarrus Academy from its original location at 65 Union Street in downtown Concord. It was during his tenure that the current site on Poplar Tent Road was first considered for the school’s relocation and growth. The school's fourth headmaster, Charles was an ardent advocate for belongingness in the classroom and initiated and supported programs that led to a more diverse student body. He also hired the school’s first full-time computer science teacher, recognizing the importance of embracing technology as part of the curriculum. His wife, Barbara, shares that he kept a quilt made by Cabarrus Academy students and teachers on display at his offices in Colorado until he passed.

Reigan Richardson

Karon Boyd

Charles Elbot

Elizabeth Rubens