Spring 2016 // The Caller: The magazine for alumni, parents, employees, and friends of Catlin Gabel

Spring 2016

The

Caller

The magazine for alumni, parents, and friends of Catlin Gabel School

Critical and Creative Thinking Exploring Ideas and Seeking Understanding Essays by Sia Haralampus, Courtney Nelson, Carter Latendresse, and Bob Sauer The Caller | Spring 2016

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Critical Thinking at Catlin Gabel

By Tim Bazemore, Head of School In 2009 I joined a national committee charged with finding the best way to assess critical thinking in our schools. We were quite confident it would be a straightforward task. After all, critical thinking processes such as the scientific method, mathematical proofs, humanities theses, and logic models are taught in most schools. What we learned, however, was surprising. The term itself has many definitions; there was little professional agreement on the “best” ways to assess critical thinking; and teaching critical thinking was so dependent on context that it defied standardization.

So what does critical thinking mean at a progressive school like Catlin Gabel? We start where most schools start: students across all the grades learn to analyze sources, determine salient information, draw conclusions supported by evidence, and share their thinking. But that’s just the start. Critical thinking here is not merely a dispassionate process and skill. It’s a personal commitment to exploring ideas and seeking understanding. From the Beehive to Dant House, teachers at Catlin Gabel share an approach to teaching critical thinking that includes the following features: Questions Deep critical thinking and understanding is shaped by increasingly complex questions—usually asked first by the teacher and then taken further by the student. This can be done deductively (a general question that steers the learner to seek specific evidence) or inductively (specific questions that lead the learner to draw conclusions). The point is that there is always a next question—sometimes suggested by the topic or information itself and sometimes by the pleasure or interest the topic inspires in the learner. A question-driven approach to critical thinking is more open-ended and unpredictable, which makes it more engaging and personal.

Creative and Original Ideas In our list of school values, we purposefully pair critical and creative thinking. If we are to develop independent-minded graduates and citizens, the process of thinking critically must encourage trial and error, imagination, and “what if ” thinking.

Sir Ken Robinson defines creativity as “original ideas that have value in the world.” That expansive view of creativity tells students to revel in possibility, to pursue novel solutions, and to value purposeful nonconformity. The freedom and encouragement to think in ways others do not can lead to new insights for all.

A Social Experience Asking questions and thinking creatively happens best in a social context that is safe and respectful. At Catlin Gabel, every teacher knows that fostering a healthy learning environment is an absolute priority. Strong critical thinking skills are shaped and sharpened through social interaction with other talented

peers and an attentive teacher. Active listening, respectful disagreement, reflection, and clarifying comments all contribute to deeper understanding and appreciation for diverse points of view. This is essential practice for the social context of work and democracy.

Relevance Research shows that engagement, understanding, and application improve when the content used to teach skills is relevant and meaningful to students. At Catlin Gabel, we understand that there is knowledge and information our students must learn to be informed citizens, and we do our best to make that relevant to their lives and developmental stages. We also allow for student choice and what lower grades teachers call “emergent curriculum”: topics that students themselves are drawn to that can be vehicles for teaching critical thinking.

Independent Judgment Our goal is to educate independent learners. That can only happen if we teach them to push back, ask why not, and be skeptical of received wisdom. We want them to ask good questions, think creatively, hone their opinions through feedback from others, and care about their beliefs. Developing those habits requires them to push beyond knowing a critical thinking process and be emotionally engaged, have the courage of their convictions, and become highly-effective communicators. Every student at Catlin Gabel is a unique and valued thinker; it’s our job to help them learn that, believe that, and act on that.

The humanist philosopher Montaigne argued that the purpose of education is to develop the capacity for judgment, not just to know something or prove a point. We agree, which is why we employ such an expansive and dynamic approach to teaching critical thinking here at Catlin Gabel. In this issue of The Caller, you’ll read how critical and creative thinking is taught and learned as a foundational skill across all areas of student endeavor.

Follow Tim’s blog at catlin.edu/Tim’sblog. Follow him on Twitter @TimBazemore.

The Caller | Spring 2016

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Critical and Creative Thinking: Exploring Ideas and Seeking Understanding

Fostering Critical Thinking Skills with Structure and Freedom

By Sia Haralampus, Beginning School Kindergarten Teacher

From a young age, children are capable of thinking critically and deeply about their world. Developmentally, their primary task is to figure out the patterns of the world, to gather information, and to make connections. As natural explorers, young children are driven to discover and draw conclusions from their findings; they are propelled by their own curiosity and determination. By celebrating their natural curiosity, the classroom experience gives shape to student exploration with a dynamic mixture of structure and freedom.

In order to foster critical thinking skills, it is important to create a foundation of flexibility, responsiveness, and objectivity. Children who see things in new and different ways, who adapt and respond to changing variables, and who take a fair-minded approach are well-equipped to use their critical thinking skills for powerful impact. In the kindergarten teachers provide both structure and freedom to support flexibility, responsiveness, and objectivity.

Classroom experiences are created around techniques, tools, processes, and methods so that children are able to practice and experiment while exploring their ideas. By providing direction and purpose without a prescribed path, teachers create a safe space for critical and creative thinking.

When taking students to the garden, for example, my plans are to provide experience with a variety of tools, introduce tips and techniques, and maybe even pull a few weeds.

However, my goal is to help them interact with the earth and be inspired by their findings. One group I brought to the garden had been trying out their tools in the dirt when someone exclaimed, “Worm!” Soon many worms were discovered and requests were made to bring the worms indoors. At times like these, the structure can be as simple as a well-timed question: “If we take the worms indoors, what will they need to survive?” The children jumped at the chance to share their prior knowledge about worms and their observations of the garden habitat in order to consider, list, and gather the materials for housing their worm friends.

Knowing the garden boundaries, the purpose of each tool, and the routines for garden work brings a sense of meaning to the experience, while also communicating trust from the teacher to the learner.

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When considering the structures that foster critical thinking skills, the greatest point of organization is the social context.

Friendship and community are central motivators for learning in kindergarten, both as the impetus and the energy behind their investigations. In one area of the classroom, children work with reusable materials to create by making connections with a variety of fastening tools. One child had built a house and another had built an airport; they declared that by connecting the two structures a city could be started.

This particular moment sparked deep interest in contributing to the project. Other children offered to build more elements of the city and it soon required more space. While the boundaries and supplies (classroom structure) had inspired a creative collaboration (intellectual freedom), the project required adaptations in the classroom structure in order to move forward.

The adaptations required were both structural and procedural; not only did teachers adjust for space and materials access, but we also modified our approach over time. At the start of the project, prompts and conversations were centered on the types of buildings needed for a city. Later in the project, the needs of the project led to conversations about organization and city planning. When it was clear a connecting bridge was needed in one location, the children were well-equipped to negotiate ideas, test out theories, and modify their prototypes.

The balance of structure and freedom is dynamic and responsive to provide support in the crossroads of student motivation and skill mastery. Through exposure to a wide range of experiences, techniques, and materials, children are able to find their own inspiration as well as be equipped to take on the journey of discovery.

The Caller | Spring 2016

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Critical and Creative Thinking: Exploring Ideas and Seeking Understanding

Using Math to Understand the World

By Courtney Nelson, Lower School Math Specialist

In the Catlin Gabel Beginning and Lower Schools, math teachers strive to design learning experiences that are empowering and irresistible to learners. One of the many facets of our challenge includes this ideal: an exemplary mathematics community equips all students with an awareness of the pressing political, health, environmental, economic, and social challenges, and the critical role of mathematics in understanding and addressing these challenges. As we wrote in our Curriculum Review Committee mission and vision statement, this approach “underscores mathematics as an engine of social justice by maximizing opportunity to participate fully in our society.”

So how do we engage young children with the challenges of social justice in a developmentally appropriate way? How do we avoid a sense of paralysis and work toward a sense of empowerment for bettering our world? One way to approach planning this type of project or lesson is to differentiate between the teaching of mathematics about social justice and the teaching of mathematics for social justice. Both are important, yet their intended learning outcomes are different.

The teaching of mathematics about social justice refers to the context of lessons that explore critical social issues using mathematics. For example, during their study of water, third 5

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grade teachers collaborate with the wellness teacher to have students carry water around the track, simulating the distance and capacity of water that some children must deal with every day. Students develop a lasting impression of the weight of water, the length of a mile, and the amount of energy needed to carry a gallon for one mile. They gain a deeper sense of awareness of the privilege that safe, clean plumbing affords them. Going forward, a picture of a gallon in a math book takes on a new, much deeper meaning than a memorized conversion to four quarts.

Another example is how the fourth grade teachers integrate measurement and fractions into their study of early immigration to America. Students draw a 60-foot long ship’s deck on paper at a scale of 1 inch = 1 foot. They then design relay games that could have entertained children who sailed on these ships. The students transfer their designs to the playground basketball court by creating full-scale chalk drawings of the 60-foot ship’s deck and they test out their relay courses. They soon come to understand how frustrating and difficult the journey may have been for early immigrants through their development of the sense of scale and the fractional amounts of space allotted for play and movement.

The teaching of mathematics for social justice is the underlying belief that mathematics can and should be taught in a way that supports students in using it to challenge injustices of the status quo as they learn to read and rewrite their world. To this end, a group of fourth grade students were asked to imagine how the scientist Stephen Hawking, who requires the use of a wheelchair, might experience the Lower School. Students were introduced to the Americans with Disabilities Act Checklist to evaluate the building’s accessibility. They formed “task forces” to measure and audit door widths, thresholds, sidewalk slopes, and barrier-free hallways and paths. They calculated whether existing stairways could be replaced with ramps, and debated whether installing a roller coaster or a gondola would improve accessibility. Finally, they composed letters that presented their data and solutions as their contribution to the school’s efforts to create a more inclusive campus.

These learning moments don’t happen every day, but we are slowly growing our toolbox of projects and experiences for children. By thoughtfully embedding math content within a variety of subject area contexts, and by carefully scaffolding students’ opportunities to practice transferring their understanding to the world around them, so too will we grow as teachers and learners within this innovative community of mathematicians.

The Caller | Spring 2016

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Critical and Creative Thinking: Exploring Ideas and Seeking Understanding

With Inquiry Students Begin to Change the World

By Carter Latendresse, 6th Grade Language Arts Teacher and Garden Coordinator

“What’s the point of learning this? What will I ever do with this?” These are questions posed by students everywhere, and I’ve encountered them many times in my teaching career. At Catlin Gabel, we are responding. When creating our lesson plans, we focus less on teacher inputs—textbooks, favorite lessons, and time-honored activities—and more on student outputs, such as what they will understand and be able to do as a result of their learning.

This approach encourages inquiry in students, which in turn inspires creative and critical thinking. Students are encouraged to research topics of their own interest, while educators act as resource guides and classroom managers.

Teachers can take this one step further by insisting on student commitment to an issue in order to improve the world beyond the classroom walls. The result is students who see the connection between their areas of study and the real world around them, and who seek ways to put their understanding to use.

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We can see this dynamic at work in our year-long English 6 unit on sustainability and systems thinking. This course asks students to consider society, economy, and environment as parts of one whole; when you push on one part, you push on the other two. Students begin by analyzing Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, where they discover in the text that both societies and economies that prosper at the expense of the environment will eventually crumble. The lesson has obvious, ominous parallels to Earth’s fossil fueldriven globalized economy today, and the students see this pretty quickly.

Exploring topics like global warming, species extinction, sea level rise, famine, natural disasters, and water shortage is tricky—especially when focusing on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) with elevenand twelve-year-olds, as we did this academic year. But, because we encourage inquiry and personal commitment, students do take ownership of their learning, and take action as well. This spirit has led to the launch of some fascinating self-driven student projects:

• During the English 6 Climate Change unit three years ago, students undertook a great lettuce challenge after studying food miles and the carbon footprint of food in The Barn. They attempted to raise all the lettuce that Director of Food Services Hen Truong needed (about 50 pounds a week) for his salad bar during the spring of that year.

• Two years ago, students worked with other middle school students in Virginia and Singapore to raise awareness about ways for schools to combat global warming. The schools each made videos and Skyped with one another so that students could begin building the global coalition needed to keep Earth under the 2 degree Celsius threshold (above the preindustrial level) this century.

• Last year, students made QR codes and posted them around campus on the greenhouse, compost station, raised beds, and apiary so that visitors to our school could take a self-guided tour that explains our sustainability efforts here on campus.

• This year, sixth grade students researched climate change science (the latest IPCC report) and followed COP 21 in Paris every day, and then wrote letters to leaders about climate change. In her letter to Head of School Tim Bazemore, student Megan Cover suggested a recycled paper plan for our school. Her ideas had impact. Soon the school’s purchasing department was engaged in outlining the steps needed to move our campus to recycled printing paper for next year.

Were we to continue for another few centuries to teach traditionally out of a textbook, or to deliver predetermined curriculum from an educational company to students who were not invited to research, wonder, scratch for meaning, and innovate, our classrooms, like Earth, might be rendered devoid of thoughtful, imaginative human beings. The environmental challenges ahead, though, demand students to think creatively and critically, just as they demand hopeful, courageous teachers to guide the way and help them solve our global ecological emergencies today.

The Caller | Spring 2016

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Critical and Creative Thinking: Exploring Ideas and Seeking Understanding

Using Creativity to Triumph Over Adversity

By Bob Sauer, Upper School Science Teacher There is great joy and satisfaction in creatively solving problems, gaining insight into the way the world works, and figuring out how to fully integrate oneself into its marvelous machinery. I model and foster this attitude and behavior for students in the classroom when I can, but it really comes in to play beyond the confines of the campus.

There’s nothing like getting out of the classroom to foster creative thinking about learning and accomplishing things. I’m over-themoon happy to be teaching at Catlin Gabel, where this is an easy and exciting pursuit that is strongly encouraged and enabled, and which I utilize as much as I can. It’s so much fun! Here are three examples: Long ago, before I started teaching at Catlin Gabel, I was on a year-long teaching exchange in Poland. This called for massive creativity. My Polish was limited to what I’d been able to pick up from a Polish student I’d had in Portland, and I was teaching from Polish textbooks. My physics colleagues didn’t speak English and were horrified when I went poking around in the physics storeroom to see what equipment I might use. Barred from the official physics equipment, I raised the bar and used two bars of translucent soap, a piece of aluminum foil, and a rubber band to make a photometer to demonstrate the inverse square relationship between illuminance and distance for light. The Polish students were amazed and highly impressed that one could make physics equipment out of ordinary household materials. Those were memorable lessons for all—both the construction of the equipment and the physics principle I wanted to convey.

Here at Catlin Gabel the Outdoor Program provides plenty of opportunity for creativity, and a second example. I’ve led the Wallamas Trip, a week in the Wallowas with llamas—and students, 9

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of course—six times. Each time I prepared a detailed plan for how the trip would unfold (the best creativity requires plenty of groundwork to help ensure its success). Not once has the trip gone according to plan. Some spanner appears in the works—too much snow in the pass, too much rushing meltwater in the streams in the valleys, a whole forest blown down across the trail, not enough water high up in a low snow pack year. And yet, with flexibility and a positive attitude, creativity can carry the day. Every one of these trips has been memorably successful, and students can appreciate the effectiveness of creative thinking in coming up with alternatives to being snowed under, washed away, or blown over.

Global Education Adventure is a third prime venue for creativity, as traveling and learning in completely new environments requires it. I had never been to China before our spring 2016 trip, and anticipated needing to be highly creative on the expedition. I was in charge of blogging, which was something I wasn’t able to accomplish on the France trip several years ago because the blogging software continually ate my copy, and my posts would vanish forever. This time the improved (but still clunky) blogging software and slow connections from China again threatened to stymie the blogging. But I found a complicated, creative away around the problems (involving excruciatingly excessive amounts of cutting, pasting, Word files, shrunken photo files, and additional uploading) and was, in the end, able to keep families and interested parties apprised of our Asian adventures.

Exposing students to these environments where creativity can triumph over adversity is illuminating, educational, and a world of fun! I eagerly anticipate many more years of these exciting exploits that cultivate creativity, including hiking hut to hut in the German and Austrian Alps with a baker’s dozen of intrepid Catlin Gabel students this summer.

The Caller | Spring 2016 10

On the Boards: 42nd Street Cabell Center Theater, February 27, 2016 42nd Street is a love letter to Broadway. A nostalgic glimpse back in time to the golden days of musical theater, it glorifies spectacle over story and revels in sparkles and tap dancing. As a longtime fan of musical theater, and an avid tap dancer, I decided to dive right into one of the big tap musicals and hope for the best. To my immense delight, the entire cast took to tap with gusto, immersing themselves in 1930s style and drilling their steps until they could execute the choreography with precision and flair. I could not be more proud of what they accomplished! -Elizabeth Gibbs ’04, Upper School Drama and English Teacher Visit the 42nd Street photo gallery, with more images by Alfred Schultz, at www.catlin.edu/thecaller.

Student Initiatives

Student-led efforts that impacted life on campus and in the greater Portland community

CLOTHING AND TOY DRIVE

Fifth graders Claire Williams, Emma Miller, Sydney Slusher, and Megan Selden initiated and led a clothing and toy drive in December 2015, and engaged the entire school in the effort. Toys were donated to a local fire station to distribute, and clothes were given to Portland’s William Temple House.

CLAIRE: It was really hard to find someplace to donate all of the toys, but then we all kind of worked together and we found a place to do it.

And it was actually on Christmas Eve when we donated them. I just felt really great about it afterwards because everybody deserves to have a great holiday.

Pictured (left to right): Claire, Emma, Megan, Sydney

EMMA: It was really cool to see the people that worked there, their faces.

They seemed so happy that they got so many donations. And I thought it was cool that we did it kind of on a holiday, because for the people who do celebrate that, I feel like it’s kind of like a gift to them, like a Christmas gift in a way.

SYDNEY: If we keep helping out the kids, then there will be less kids in so much need. And then the kids who are really struggling can get a little bit more. Since we all have the privilege to have all this stuff, it’s good for us to help other people. Because if we have a happy life, we want other people to have one too.

MEGAN: I think it’s important to step up and do something, because if you just lay back and think that other people are going to do it, then other people will do that, and nobody will help anybody. And I think that it’s a good influence on the younger kids. When they’re older they can do more projects like this to help the community.

CATLIN GABEL CHESS FESTIVAL

Freshman Avi Gupta, Seth Talyansky, Solomon Olshin, and Hansen Lian organized and presented the school’s first all-ages open chess competition, which drew 123 players to the Catlin Gabel campus from 30 Oregon schools. The festival welcomed players of all skill levels and all grades, kindergarten to high school, and was sanctioned as an Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation qualifier for the Oregon State Championship.

AVI: When Seth and I founded the Chess Club this year, we decided that the key goal of the club would be to foster a community of chess players, both at Catlin Gabel and in the greater Portland area. The Chess Festival was a big step towards that goal, as it brought together students from all around the city for a day of chess.

SETH: Few chess opportunities exist in Oregon. Chess fosters students’ academic success. Catlin Gabel teaches us not to learn passively and work for our desired change. Our team took action to create opportunities. I appreciated my friends’ sharing my passion for action, and, with the support of the school and volunteers, we all worked together to start a new tournament in Portland.

HANSEN: The Chess Festival offered many kids their first taste of the strategic game of chess. These first-timers, as well as numerous seasoned players, got to play four or five games. The experience motivated many to pursue other chess tournaments in the future.

SOLOMON: The crowd at the Chess Festival was quite a diverse one. It gathered communities and generations in a fun environment. Through organizing the Festival, we raised the profile of both Catlin Gabel and the Chess Club and encouraged new participation from across many communities. We worked together to build and maintain a sustainable platform for the tournament while uplifting the community and fundraising for the newly founded Chess Club.

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PLASTIC BOTTLE BAN

Maya Rayle ’18 and Hayle Meyerhoff ’16 recognized a sustainability issue on campus, and stepped up to lead. By generating campus-wide interest, and collecting hundreds of signatures, they effected one of the few student-led policy changes in the school’s history: Starting in fall 2016, Catlin Gabel will no longer sell drinks in plastic bottles.

MAYA: Take a few sips then throw the bottle in the trash? The plastic bottled drinks sold at Catlin Gabel, including Honest Tea and sparkling water, are often recycled improperly, causing the entire recycling to be thrown away, or the bottles are thrown in trash cans. Hayle and I, student leaders of the high school Environmental Action Team, recognized this issue and decided to do something about it. Last spring, our group built an A-frame structure out Pictured (left to right): Hayle, Maya of Honest Tea bottles to spark conversations about our school’s plastic waste. We collected student signatures in support of ending the sale of plastic bottled drinks. We presented ideas to Head of School Tim Bazemore and other members of administration. After a year of hard work, Catlin Gabel will stop selling drinks in plastic bottles.

HAYLE: We felt it was important for the Environmental Action Team’s first project to impact the whole school. We hoped the bottle initiative would be a way to invite all members of our community to actively participate in making our campus a better place. As we went around asking for signatures on our petition, I was thrilled to see the wide array of people who care about the environment and who believed we could accomplish our goal. It is really special to be part of a community that takes students this seriously. The success of this project is due to the sincerity with which people listened to us, and the commitment the community has of helping Catlin Gabel evolve.

THE STATE OF POLICING: A PUBLIC FORUM

To give voice to a variety of perspectives on the topic of police use of force, juniors Grace Masback and Jessica McDermott organized a public dialogue and panel discussion with representatives from law enforcement, the legal community, academia, and the activist community. The event drew concerned citizens from throughout the city.

JESSICA: The divisive nature of police use of force results in polarizing and passionately-held viewpoints. Catlin Gabel teaches us to think critically to develop our own perspectives, but I often worry that viewpoints expressed prominently in the media impede my ability to cultivate my own fully-informed opinions on issues. As a response to the controversial nature of the discussion about force, Grace and I Pictured: Panelist Fidel Cassino-DuCloux, Assistant Federal Public Defender created a dialogue between people who hold diverse Photo: Reuben Schafir ’17 viewpoints. While we could not resolve every issue in one evening, we succeeded in shedding light on the multifaceted nature of this topic. We strongly believe that understanding opposing viewpoints is the first step in working toward solutions to the most contentious debates.

GRACE: Our goal for this event was to actively embrace conflict as a means of finding common ground and a way forward. We encouraged productive, well-founded debate around an incredibly polarizing issue. Although I had to defuse some challenging disagreements in the course of the forum, the results were largely positive. The issue of police use of force in Portland requires continued dialogue and Jessica and I are committed to working toward meaningful change in this area. I am grateful to Catlin Gabel and The CENTER for giving us the support and space we needed to make it happen and look forward to taking part in additional student initiatives that take on difficult topics and connect with the Portland community.

The CENTER is Catlin Gabel’s new learning and event space in Northeast Portland.

The Caller | Spring 2016 14

Community Event

Fifth Annual Tuition on the Track Students from every grade poured onto the track April 15, 2016, for the annual Catlin Gabel fundraiser. With pledges for every lap they ran or walked, students rushed to finish as many as possible in 60 minutes, and many added a victory lap for free. Collectively, our students raised over $50,000 for financial assistance.

All photos by Alfred Schultz except top image by Ken DuBois

Visit the Tuition on the Track 2016 photo gallery at www.catlin.edu/thecaller.

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Catlin Gabel Strategic Plan In fall 2015, research by cross-constituent groups created a foundation for the Catlin Gabel Strategic Plan. This winter and spring, work groups used that research to take the process further. By imagining the educational landscape of 2020 and beyond–and by remembering the qualities that make a Catlin Gabel education exceptional–groups were formed around key strategic possibilities, and tasked with developing a specific idea.

The five spring work groups focused on these core themes: Establish Catlin Gabel as a true educational laboratory Catlin Gabel will design processes and structures for research, experimentation, and sharing progressive education methods; rethink how we use time and redefine “classroom” to support experiential learning on and off campus; collaborate with local and national schools, universities, and experts; and design innovative methods to analyze and report on student outcomes.

Pursue and promote exemplary teaching Catlin Gabel will provide creative opportunities for teachers and staff to work and learn in an “ed lab” environment; redesign professional learning and compensation strategies to support those opportunities; and provide a diverse workplace that attracts the most passionate, skilled, and creative professionals.

Develop adaptable and resilient students Students will pursue wellness and life balance within a high-achieving academic environment; learn to be resilient, responsible, and empowered to explore their passions and interests; and know how to learn and relate to others in classrooms, on campus, online, in the city, in nature, and around the world.

Connect students to nature Students will become more deeply connected to our campus home through place-based lessons and workbased stewardship; help to develop our campus as an environmental sustainability model and resource; and learn systems thinking through ever-expanding experiences in nature.

Engage the Portland community Students will engage in authentic, interest-driven partnerships and mentoring relationships through which they acquire and apply skills in the Portland community; develop personal theories of leadership and social change; drive the school’s commitment to public purpose; and demonstrate the impact of what they are learning and achieving.

The spring work groups’ ideas for the future of Catlin Gabel, and notes on feasibility and viability, will be shared in the next phase of the process.

Stay engaged. Read Strategic Planning updates online at catlin.edu/strategicplanning. Share your thoughts with Head of School Tim Bazemore by emailing HOS@catlin.edu.

The Caller | Spring 2016 16

Class Notes 1959

Nancy Johnsrud Dudley and her husband Steve travel all over the world, often with a grandchild in tow (they saw the Galapagos last year with the 10-year-old). The adventure for fall 2015 included snorkeling in the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and other ports of call. They are building a house in Lake Oswego and expect to move in 2016.

1968

Robin Schauffler read her work at a recent Gallery 114 event in Portland. Robin’s writing has been published in Open Spaces, Oregon English Journal, Oregon Quarterly, and other publications.

1971

Liaison: Muffie LaTourette Scanlan, muffie130@comcast.net

Tamara Howard has published another book, Putting the Soul Back into Business. She still lives in England. Her daughter, Tabitha, will begin medical school this coming summer.

1973

Liaison: Ted Kaye & Debbie Ehrman Kaye, djek53@aol.com

Gwynne MacColl Campbell is the delighted grandmother of Alma Elizabeth Campbell, born March 10 in Amman, Jordan, on the birthday of her greatgrandfather, former Headmaster Dr. E. Kimbark MacColl.

The proud parents are Tara and Colin Campbell. Elizabeth Powell Pastor and her family have recently returned to the Portland area after four years in Malibu. They loved the California lifestyle. Jacqueline and Steve Swire proudly announce the bar mitzvah of their son Sam in early April.

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1974

Bard’s work more accessible to the people. James Grant writes, “I am CEO of JGPR. My company’s mission is to raise media awareness for important non-profits making a difference in the world and helping people from all walks of life.”

The Oregonian recently reported the success of Catlin Gabel parent Dr. Brian Druker’s targeted cancer therapy, Gleevec, including a sidebar story about Ken Zeidman’s remission from chronic myeloid leukemia.

1975

1979

Liaison: Len Carr, carrl@catlin. edu

Cori Abel Bacher contributed a painting to the Audubon Society’s Wild Arts Festival in November 2015. Joel Ivey recently spent a month in Arizona with old geological and mineral exploration colleagues.

He is now back in Indonesia and headed to Timor in search of Timor Agates for the next addition to his IndoAgate website. Sally Bachman and her husband are moving back to Portland from the San Francisco Bay Area. They are looking forward to seeing more ’75 classmates. She writes, “I was really impressed by Nkenge Harmon Johnson ’93 when I saw her receive the alumni award, and so recently, my father [former trustee Roger A. Bachman] and I had lunch with her.” Margaret Park Bridges was happy to travel 3,000 miles for her 40th Catlin Gabel class reunion, which had a record turnout. The event was fun, and she really enjoyed catching up with old classmates.

She misses Portland, and she and her husband are seriously considering moving to be nearer to their daughters: Emma now lives in Portland, is active as an actress in local theater, and was just accepted to the Master in Social Work program at PSU for next fall; Holly is an audiologist in the Seattle area.

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Class of ’75 breakfast gathering. L to R: Margaret Park Bridges, Sally Bachman, Kym Young Higgins, Tam Putnam, Suzi Ehrman, and Lisa Peters Wakefield

Liaison: Jim Bilbao, jimbilbao@ gmail.com

1980

Jarrett Walker is an international consultant in 1976 public transit network design Liaison: Hester Buell Carr, and policy based in Portland. hbc58@aol.com Hester Buell Carr performed He is the president of Jarrett Walker + Associates, a (with Sherrie Wolf) harmony consulting firm that provides and solo renditions of advice and planning services in contemporary and traditional folk ballads at the Lake Theater North America, and a principal consultant with MRCagney & Cafe in Lake Oswego in Australia.

November 2015. The concert was a benefit for Sisters of the 1981 Road Cafe.

Liaison: Julie McMurchie,

1977

David Bragdon is currently executive director of TransitCenter, a civic philanthropy in New York City working to spark innovations and support policies that improve public transportation nationally.

1978

Artist Tom Cramer introduced new wood reliefs and gave an artist’s talk at Augen Gallery in November 2015.

Tom Buell Jr. ’74 writes, “Proud of my brother Dexter, who made one of the short films in ‘The Sonnet Project,’ dramatizations of Shakespeare’s sonnets. This collection just received commendation from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for ‘upholding the values of the trust’ by making the

b.mcmurchie@comcast.net

1982

Liaison: Mary Rondthaler, maryrondthaler@gmail.com

1984

Liaison: Victoria Patrick Lloyd, victoria.s.lloyd@gmail.com

1985

Liaison: Bryan Ward, bryan@ skywardconstruction.com

1986

Liaison: Katie Wisdom Weinstein, katemcgehee@ yahoo.com

Scott Mapes writes, “I sold my Portland restaurant, La Buca, that I owned for almost 20 years, in February of 2016.

After over 30 years in the restaurant industry I am ready to move on. But god how I miss the people! At this point I

am working on all the projects that I wanted to for so many years. Most importantly, my son, Henry, is nearing the end of his freshmen year at Grant High School. He is doing quite well. We are all very proud of him. A chip off the old block. HARDLY!!!” Harold Broughton is currently working at Lile International as an office furniture installer and mover. He writes. “I love to spend my free time seeing Liz [Broughton Marsamane] and playing with her son, Henry, who is seven now. They moved back to Portland about a year ago from Morocco. It will be great to see everyone at our 30th class reunion.”

David Levine taught happily in the middle school at OES from 2000 to 2012. He spent the last few years freelancing for friends around town, and is currently learning the craft of stage management under the tutelage of Portland Playhouse theater. Naun Chang writes, “The Changs are well and our son just graduated from Catlin Gabel. We are in our first year of being empty nesters!”

Heather Guthrie writes that she enjoyed an awesome three-and-a-half week family road trip through Europe last summer with daughter Ellie, 12, and husband Gil. She writes, “And then we went back to work and school, volleyball started again, and life goes on.” Andrew Malm was able to visit with Dover NorrisYork briefly in March when passing through Seattle. “I am continuing to do outpatient physical and occupational therapy weekly in recovery from my stroke of five years ago. I am also looking forward to a second summer of working for the Seattle Mariners.” Erin

Fairbairn-Stammer writes, “One kid a sophomore at Depaul in Chicago (CG class of ’14), another kid is a junior at CG, stepson is graduating from Central Catholic this year, and stepdaughter is at Grant (freshman). Life has gotten a lot easier in the last year, lots of time for yoga, running, reading, and travel. I’m still at US Bank as a doc negotiations manager, president of our Toastmasters club, and on several committees at the MAC, so keeping very busy!” Julia White writes, “After living in Seattle for 20+ years, I moved to Tacoma about five years ago, and I love it. I am convinced it is the best-kept secret in the Pacific Northwest.

I live here on one-third of an acre with my husband, two dogs, two cats, 11 chickens, and 18 blueberry plants. I work at the Washington State History Museum. If anyone is ever in town, come find me, I have fresh eggs!” Nancy MorrisJudd writes, “After having moved back to Portland almost two years ago with my spouse Nicole, things are in full swing with my art career, Recycle Runway. I’m working on two new upcycled fashion sculptures commissioned by the Portland Airport and the Oregon Nature Conservancy. I am also working as a teaching artist with Portland’s Regional Arts & Culture Council and am excited to have been invited by Katie Wisdom Weinstein to teach this summer at Oregon College of Art and Craft. It’s really great to be back!” Derrick Butler writes, “I am still working in South Central Los Angeles as the Associate Medical Director and HIV Specialist at a large Community Health Center. I also joined the Catlin Gabel Board of Trustees in May 2015

and have joined the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Board. Staying busy with my wife Gayle and three boys, Derrick 16, Justin 14, and Andrew 10. Mostly, I want to sincerely thank all of my classmates from ’86 and the Catlin Gabel community for the love and support given to me during the passing of my mother, Rose Butler, in November.” John Olson reports that he spends as much time as possible on the mountain with his awesome wife and son, making sure that they have as many adventures and experiences as he did growing up all over Oregon.

John is excited for the 30th reunion and hopes everyone will show up this year. Katie Wisdom Weinstein is back working at Oregon College of Art and Craft as Director of Community Programs. She feels lucky to be surrounded by artists, kids, and craft. Her daughter is about to graduate from Grant High School and her son graduated last year and studies art in Eugene. She joined the Catlin Gabel Alumni Board this year and is having fun with the “think-tank” feel of meetings and planning like the old days. She writes, “The best fun this year was Catlin Alumni Trivia Night, where our team, ‘Smoking Porch Girls,’ lost the game, but we laughed so hard all night it was well worth the loss.” Laura Gilbert writes, “I live with my husband, Geoff (architect), our young son, and a pair of silly cats in Seattle’s south end neighborhood of Columbia City. I continue to run my communication design business while juggling all the activities of family life with a pre-schooler. Becoming a parent after 40 wasn’t exactly

my plan, but it sure doesn’t feel like I graduated high school nearly 30 years ago when I’m chasing a four-year-old around.” Steve Pike lives in Portland with his wife Allison and eight-year-old daughter Coco. He still enjoys listening to 80s music and is looking forward to seeing classmates at the reunion this fall. Pat Meigs writes, “I am the principal of a primary school [Lowry] in Wilsonville. I had the good fortune of opening this new school four years ago. I have been a principal for 10 years. I have two children, Helen, age 16, and Norris, age 14. My wife Felicity teaches at the Arbor School. I earned my doctorate in educational leadership a few years ago. As a family we love to ski, walk our dog Maggie, and generally spend time together. I am looking forward to catching up with all at reunion!” Kurt Garbe writes, “In October of 2014 my wife and I welcomed our son Quinn into the world.

As public school teachers in Arizona, we could not justify staying due to the cost of health and day care. In January 2015 we attended a recruiting fair for international schools and we chose San Salvador, where we moved last July. It is the smallest, most densely populated country in Central America. It is where the First World and the Third World live side by side.” Meghan Murphy O’Rourke writes, “I live in an old home in Northeast Portland with my husband of 21 years and our four kids.

There is always a project to be done! Our oldest daughter is a freshman at the U of O and our oldest son is looking at schools in Montana. Our youngest son just started his freshman year at Central Catholic and The Caller | Spring 2016 18

Class Notes our youngest is a seventh grader at Irvington.” Jill Freidberg writes, “I’m living in Seattle with my sweetie, Carlo, his two kids, Zoe and Josiah, and our singing pitbull, Bean. My work these days is a juggling act of documentary filmmaking, community storytelling projects, and teaching audio storytelling at UW Bothell.”

1987

Liaison: Megan Sullivan Shipley, shipleymegan@gmail.com

Gretchen Sack Fernandez writes that life in the Dallas, Texas, area is going well. She and her family will spend this summer in Carmel, California. Tom and Megan Sullivan Shipley, Kayley Weinstein Cook, Irfan Tahir, Elizabeth Sabin-Rouffy, and Jenny Wilson Prendergast are all excited to announce the next generation of their class. This fall, Catlin Gabel will welcome Fiona ’23 (Megan and Tom), Caroline ’20 (Kayley), Aisha ’30 (Irfan), and Libby ’20 (Elizabeth).

These four girls will join Jenny Prendergast’s three sons who are already at Catlin Gabel: Wilson ’18, Logan (Luke) ’19, and Oliver ’22. Sam Zalutsky is excited to be collaborating with many Oregon creatives on his second feature film, an independent female-driven revenge thriller called Seaside, shooting in Portland and at the Oregon Coast. Jim Shulevitz writes, “News at the Shulevitz house: Zoe turned 15 and is an honor student at St. Mary’s; Isaac had his bar mitzvah last November and will be attending Grant High School in the fall; and Simon is heading to Costa Rica with his classmates and then on to middle school at Metro Montessori in the fall.

Anastasia and I will celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary this summer.”

19

1988

Liaison: John Walsdorf, johnwalsII@aol.com

1989

Liaison: Robyn Rhodes Rogers, hicktownmom@gmail.com

1990

Liaison: Heather Gaudry Blackburn, hblackburn13@ gmail.com

Pippa Arend writes, “I’ve recently been on a short sabbatical—this being the 14th school year for p:ear, my nonprofit for homeless youth.

I’ve also been working on developing another (albeit very small) business for my paper cut artwork, known in the common tongue as “flakes,” in which I unveil myself as a flake-master, helping people unfold their inner flake. I’m actually not kidding.” Scott Carpenter writes, “Proud to say I survived a huge corporate acquisition in private security and am now Director of Business Development for the SoCal market. Also, starting the 2016 beach tennis season in the Top 10 world rankings for both singles and doubles! Just added a new puppy to the clan as well—feels like starting over with a new baby!”

1991

The Oregonian reports that the latest film from independent filmmaker Ian McCluskey is the documentary Voyagers Without Trace.

1992

Liaison: Jamie Bell, jamico1974@ hotmail.com & Ashley Tibbs, tibbsashley@gmail.com

1993

Liaison: Jen McDonald, jenmcdonald74@gmail.com

The Caller | www.catlin.edu/thecaller

1994

Se-ah-dom Edmo was interviewed on OPB Radio’s “Think Out Loud” about Halloween costumes and cultural appropriation.

International Artist magazine published an eight-page feature on the art of Eric Wert, with one of his paintings on the cover. His work was also featured in American Art Collector magazine.

1995

Liaison: Lisa Kleinman, lisa_ kleinman@hotmail.com

Jim Hetherington and wife Katie, along with big brothers Miles and Evan, are thrilled to announce the arrival of Alice Oliver Hetherington, born on October 18, 2015.

Peter Bromka finished 31st at the 2016 Boston Marathon out of more than 30,000 participants. He was the 10th American to cross the finish line. Kevin Esvelt was identified in a November 2015 New Yorker magazine article as “an evolutionary biologist at Harvard [who] was the first to demonstrate how gene drives and CRISPR could combine to alter the traits of wild populations. Recently he has begun to study the possibility of using the technology to eliminate Lyme disease by rewriting the genes of mice in the wild.”

Alice Oliver Hetherington

1996

Wally Wilson, retired faculty member, has been travelling extensively, including a stop with Tyler Tibbs at his five-star guest house in Playa Maderos, Nicaragua.

1997

Liaison: Sarah Coates Higgins, sarahlcoates@gmail.com

1998

Liaison: Will Decherd, wdecherd@gmail.com

1999

Liaison: Nasim Gorji, ngorji@ gmail.com

2000

Liaison: Natasha Stoudt,

secretnatasha@gmail.com

Peter Bromka in the 2016 Boston Marathon

2001

Liaison: Tyler Francis, catlin@ tylerf.net

Ashley Olson relocated to Fes, Morocco, in August 2015 after three years in Zanzibar, Tanzania. She now serves as the Assistant Principal at Amicitia American School Fes and has additional teaching duties including English, theater, and debate. Ashley will continue her theater work with East African students in the summer. Last summer, Christa Thoëresz married Jake Stout, who attended Portland Christian, and played soccer and ran against Catlin

recently traveled to Beijing for his sixth kung fu training extravaganza. The trip is part of his West Gate Project, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to the preservation and research of rare and nifty styles of Northern Chinese martial arts.

Jake and Christa Thoëresz Stout

Gabel in high school. Christa is currently the Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility and Executive Director of the Trail Blazers Foundation.

Bill Wessinger recently started Wessinger Woodworks, a furniture business in Portland.

The pieces are primarily built of Oregon white oak, sourced from a family-owned sustainable forestry project located outside of Salem. After 15 years living in New Haven, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, Tyler Francis will be moving back to Portland this summer along with his wife, Melissa, and their children, Lily and William.

Tyler and Melissa Francis with Lily and William

Joey and Kate Haber welcomed their baby girl Fritz Melegale Haber into the world in 2014. In 2015 the Habers founded Laurelhurst Family Clinic of acupuncture and herbology as well as “Portland Movement Arts School of asskickery and vaguely poetical martial arts analogies.” Joey

Joey Haber becoming the first American in 30 years to formally enter the Cheng BaGuaZhang Kung Fu inner family

2002

Liaison: Kelsey Rotwein Schagemann, kelsey. schagemann@gmail.com

Lily Alice Bellos was born to Alex and Emily Carr Bellos on March 29, 2016. Markus Hutchins writes “David Gluck married Kelly Williams Brown on November 28th at the Old Church in Portland, Oregon. Markus served as the best best man of all time.” Erica Silva writes, “Henry’s first birthday approaches and we plan on having a celebration to applaud ourselves for having survived.

We never could have done it without the help of his aunt, Suzi Silva ’06, who has taken quite a shine to her neppers.”

2003

Liaison: Lauren Collins, laurencollins03@gmail.com

2004

Liaison: Hannah Aultman, Hannah.aultman@gmail.com

Mason Kaye and his wife Julianna Howland enthusiastically welcomed Rose

Alexandra Kaye into the world on March 11. Mason recently worked as a composer on the music team for the film Casanova Was a Woman, which was accepted into the Philadelphia International Film Festival and nominated for Best Score.

David Recordon was hired as the information technology lead for the White House complex in March 2015. Previously David had designed and maintained the office technology for Mark Zuckerberg and the other employees at Facebook.

2005

population data. Within ten minutes of first walking on campus I ran into another Catlin alum—Jenna Stewart ’08!” Michelle Levesque writes, “I’m in the process of launching the new version of my website for my business, Joy of Energy. I work with energy healing, Spiritual mentorship, and personal development coaching. My class offerings are currently expanding to include a new Shamanic Reiki Apprentice Program for my students who want to incorporate Shamanic energies into their personal or professional practice.”

Liaison: Taylor Kaplan, taylorashleykaplan@gmail.com

Adam Taitano is living in Portland, where he has been hanging out with Ben Byrnes, Jensen Marineau, and Kathryn Wong ’02.

Rollyn Stafford writes, “My film ONE WEEK premiered at the Portland International Film Festival. I’m currently working as a teacher to afterschool children at Code to the Future—Success Through Chess.” Elizabeth Cooke started the MBA program at NYU Stern in the fall. She also started working at L2, where Brett Murphy ’99 also works. Janie Paige recently took a position with Swanson, Thomas, Coon & Newton, a social justice-oriented law firm, and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with specialization in conflict resolution. She also volunteers as a small claims mediator in Multnomah and Clackamas counties, and coordinates community practice at the Shambhala Meditation Center.

Rebecca Davies writes, “I’m in Boulder, Colorado, working on my master’s degree in geography studying spatial

Joy Perkinson and Ken Clary

Joy Perkinson married fellow MIT alum Ken Clary in August 2015 at Sunriver Resort. When Julia Carr is not working as a Garden Educator for the national non-profit The Kitchen Community she is volunteering at the local community garden, honing her culinary skills, and pursuing her new interest in rock climbing.

Allea Martin is working on a master’s in Public Health at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. Taylor Kaplan moved back to Portland where she is getting familiar with the rainy weather again, and working as a Development Associate for Williams and Dame. Susie Greenebaum, former CG alumni director, married Nick Schwartz on September 12, The Caller | Spring 2016 20

Class Notes

Susie Greenebaum and Nick Schwartz

2015, at Waverley Country Club. Many Catlin Gabel community members attended, including maid of honor Nina Greenebaum ’11 and bridesmaids Julia Carr, Taylor Kaplan, Julia Steinberger, and Nina Yonezawa. Susie and Nick met at Nike where Susie works in Consumer Digital Technology. Nick works for Sprinklr, a growing SaaS company and Nike partner. After six years abroad completing her master’s and Ph.D. in French Studies, Donna CanadaSmith moved to Oakland, California, where she is a substitute teacher at the Upper School for Bentley School on the Lafayette campus. There she was thrilled to reconnect with Bentley’s Associate Head and Head of Upper School Brian Thomas, who formerly was Catlin Gabel’s Upper School Assistant Head, English teacher, and baseball coach.

of Economics, writing my dissertation on adolescents’ access to contraception in Senegal under the recent National Family Planning Policy, essentially what barriers they face, what programs exist already, and how the recent influx of donor and government focus on family planning in the country has (or hasn’t) had an impact on these things. [I’m] planning on sticking around London afterwards with Baxter, the greatest dog ever.” Megan Amram is writing for the show Silicon Valley and a new TV show on NBC, Good Place. Her humor piece, “To Those Fleeing President Trump: Welcome to Canada!,” appeared in The New Yorker magazine in December 2015. Nick Farris is doing a pediatrics residency at Akron (Ohio) Children’s Hospital.

Christine Heller is moving to Pittsburgh in July, where she will pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Duquesne.

2007

Liaison: Ben Dair, zencellist@ gmail.com & Rob Kaye, robert.e.kaye@gmail.com

The Oregonian reported that Whitney Goodman has opened a shop in downtown Portland on the corner of SW 12th and Alder called WM Goods. The store sells women’s clothing, accessories, natural skin care, and more.

2009

Liaison: Christopher Skinner, Brian Thomas, past faculty, and Donna Canada-Smith at Bentley School, Oakland, CA.

2006

Liaison: Casey Michel, casey. michel@gmail.com

Katie Northcott writes, “I’m almost done (September) with my master’s in Population and Development at London School 21

christopher.r.skinner@gmail.com

Since graduating Lawrence University in 2014 with his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees, Christopher Skinner joined Accenture and started working for the company’s federal management consulting practice. He has travelled

The Caller | www.catlin.edu/thecaller

to seven different countries and worked with 12 different countries’ operating groups to provide change management support for a project integrating client procurement and financial systems. He writes, “I didn’t know when I chose to go down this route, but wonderfully my goal of doing internationallyfocused work is being achieved faster than I could’ve imagined.”

He lives in Arlington, Virginia.

2010

Liaison: Ingrid Van Valkenburg, icvanvalkenburg@gmail.com

2011

Liaison: Sarah Lowenstein, lowensteins@lclark.edu

Alex Foster has started his professional basketball career in Germany with the Rhein Stars Koeln (Germany-ProA).

2012

Liaison: Kate Rubinstein, rubinske@whitman.edu

2014

Liaison: Nick Rhodes, nbrhodes@gmail.com

2015

On October 6, 2015, USA Today published an article by Catlin Gabel alumna and former CatlinSpeak editor, Lauren Fogelstrom. She originally wrote the article about the Tobacco to 21 Act for The Daily Free Press, an independent newspaper on her Boston University campus.

IN MEMORIAM Henry P. Bergman Father of Lisa Bergman ’75, Dirk Bergman ’72, and Erik Bergman ’69; brother-in-law of former Head of School Manvel Schauffler; architect of the Catlin Gabel indoor tennis court buildings Julie Schauffler Bernard ’44 Daughter of Catlin School music and folkdance teacher Emma “Cuzzie” Schauffler; sister of Chrissy Schauffler Weitzer ’47 (dec.); aunt of Evie Weitzer ‘71, David Weitzer ‘72, Nick Weitzer ‘74 (married to China Taylor Weitzer ’77), and Caroline (Lupe) ’76; great-aunt of Josh Weitzer ’94 Elizabeth “Liz” Buehler Mother of Betsy Buehler Anderson ’76 Rose Butler Mother of Derrick Butler ’86 Patrick W. Casey Brother-in-law of Peggy Buckley Casey ’57 Adrienne Fulop Darnell Daughter of Gretchen Fulop Darnell ’72; granddaughter of Joseph David Fulop ’45 Nelsie Elizabeth Davis Former wife of Tom Stevenson ’67 JoAnne Lang DenBeste Mother of Steve DenBeste ’71 and LeaAnne DenBeste ‘74 Kathryn Slade Edwards ’72 Sister of Michael Slade ’75 and Rick Slade ’68 Donald W. Green III Husband of Susan Hendrix Green ’59; brother-in-law of Judy Hendrix Hawkins ’56 Jim Greenough Father of Rachel Greenough ’01; husband of Carol Greenough, former Middle School counselor Joseph Leo Heinz Husband of Eleanor (Ellie) Frank Heinz ’40

Barbara Ann Hawley Hosking ’49 Sister of Willard Hawley ’41 (dec.), Philip M. Hawley ’43, and Dinda Hawley Mills ’44; stepsister of Adele Hawley Davie ’35 Stephen Powell Jones Taught at Catlin Gabel on a teacher exchange 1978-79 Terrence Kerrigan ’83 Frederick A.J. “Ted” Kingery, M.D. ’45 Father of Elizabeth “Liz” Kingery Warren ’70; grandfather of Sam Kingery ’04 and Max Kingery ’07

(dec.), former faculty member Brigitte I. Mengelberg, M.D. Mother of Ernst Mengelberg ’77 and Renate Mengelberg’78 Rosina Corbett Morgan Former faculty member; Mother of Peter ’61, Kate ’64, Sarah ’67, and Thomas ’71 (dec.); aunt of Joan Corbett Dine ’58, Fred Corbett ’60, Tony Corbett ’62, Anne Corbett Ankrom ’64, Hoyt Corbett ’67, Gretchen Corbett ’63, and Richard Corbett ’68; aunt of Elisabeth Morgan Pendleton ’58, Rhidian Morgan ’63, and M.E. Morgan ’68.

Peter H. Koehler ’46 Brother of Virginia Koehler Schlesser ’35 and Barbara Koehler Munro ’37; father of Paul Koehler ’77; son-in-law of Susan Platt Malarkey ’20; brother-in-law of Mary Barnett Malarkey ’43

Kelton Anderton Murphy Granddaughter of Nancie Stevens McGraw ’47; niece of Donald H. McGraw, Jr. ’74 and David McGraw ’75

Margaret Selling Labby Sister of Ben Selling, M.D., ’41

Jean Blair O’Neill ’38

Robert Stuart Labby Father-in-law of Lee Ann Tegart Labby ’71; uncle of Lisa LabbyRaven ’77 Arthur B. Lind Father of Joanne Lind Phillipson ’77 Beverly Sundeleaf Mackenzie ’45 Sister of Karin Sundeleaf Wright ’49 Deirdre “Didi” Malarkey Wife of Stoddard Malarkey ’45 (dec.), former faculty member; daughter-in-law of Susan Platt Malarkey ’20; sister-in-law of Mary Barnett Malarkey ’43 George Marshall ’63 Kate Rogers McCarthy ’35 Grandmother of Abby McCarthy ’94 Ronald McCarty Father of Melina McCarty ’81 and Christoph McCarty ’84 Henry S. Mears, Jr. Husband of Marian Lee Mears

ALUMNI CONNECTION

Marjorie J. Newhouse ’52 Sara Wheaton Perry Mother of Matthew Perry ’90 and Juliet Perry Raschio ’93 Martha Macleay Phillippi ’38 Mother of Jane Phillippi Babcock ’72 and Lincoln Phillippi ’74 Arthur Riedel Stepfather of Lesley Milhem Broyles ’85 Dr. Willard Daniel Rowland Father of Willard “Wick” D. Rowland, Jr. ’62, Martha S. Rowland ’65, Charles P. Rowland ’67, Anthony T. Rowland ’71, and Thomas H. Rowland ’74 Herbert J. Shapiro Husband of Ardyth Rosencrantz Shapiro ’55; father of Annie Shapiro Underwood ’80 Nedra Bordwell Thatcher Mother of Ann Thatcher Miller ’64, mother-in-law of C. Edmund Miller ’69 John Donald Thorpe, M.D. Husband of Jean Lawrence Thorpe ’52; father of Steve Thorpe ’77

Stay connected!

We love to hear from you!

Stay connected to your classmates and the Catlin Gabel community.

ONLINE Save the date for Alumni Weekend and Homecoming October 7-8, 2016

Return to your beautiful campus, and re-connect with classmates, teachers, and the alumni community. Watch for details—mailed to you in summer 2016.

This year we pay special tribute to the classes whose graduation years end in 1 and 6.

Reunion Year Alumni: Help make your reunion a success! Join your reunion planning committee.

Visit www.catlin.edu/ alumniweekend2016 to learn more about how to begin the reunion planning process.

Access the Alumni section of our website at www.catlin. edu Follow us on Facebook

ON CAMPUS

Bookmark the Alumni events section of our website, and watch for emails announcing alumni events throughout the year

BY PHONE OR EMAIL

To share news or ask questions, reach out at any time to Sprinavasa Brown ’02, Alumni Program Director: browns@catlin.edu or (503) 297-1894 ext. 424.

Catlin Gabel Alumni Association Board Members Owen Gabbert ’02, President Emily Carr Bellos ’02, Vice President Ingrid Van Valkenburg ’10 Secretary Sprinavasa Bell Brown ’02, Alumni Program Director, ex-officio Len Carr ’75 Chris Dorough ’03 Meg Patten Eaton ’58 Drew Fletcher ’03 Debbie Ehrman Kaye ’73 Michael Malone ’95 Traci Jernigan Rossi ’83 Irfan Tahir ’87 Tom Tucker ’66 Katie Wisdom Weinstein ’86 Vishal Vanka ’16

The Caller | Spring 2016 22

News Catlin Gabel Auction

The 2016 Catlin Gabel Auction in March grossed over $620,000, an overwhelming show of community support for the school’s financial assistance program, and for essential school programs including class trips, global education, athletics, student clubs, and school events. An elegant evening at the Portland Art Museum drew hundreds of community members, and online bidding drew hundreds more. Catlin Gabel parents Laurine Apolloni and Tiffany Rosenfeld were co-chairs for the event, and parent Renny Gleeson served as emcee for the evening.

Community Engagement

The Catlin Gabel student-run Communicare Club focused their efforts this year on supporting (through grants) non-profit organizations that assist refugees and immigrants in the Portland metro area. The club raised just over $1,000, which was matched 10 to 1 by the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, allowing the club to donate a total of $11,000.

Funds were distributed to Catholic Charities, Causa, Hacienda, and Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization.

In honor of International Women’s Day, Grace Masback ‛17 and Grace Wong ‛17 organized a panel discussion in March at The CENTER, Catlin Gabel’s new learning and event space in Northeast Portland. Five speakers presented talks on their experiences and life lessons, and how they have overcome challenges as women professionals.

Camions of Care, the non-profit run by Catlin Gabel students and led by Executive Director Nadya Okamoto ’16, was awarded the top prize in February at the Portland State University Pitch Fest, an event that showcases the efforts of entrepreneurs working on social and environmental issues.

Dedicated to “support menstrual hygiene management through the global distribution of feminine hygiene product care packages to women in need,” Camions of Care has now served over 12,000 women worldwide.

The WeLead program was launched in April, a collaboration between Oregon Humanities and Catlin Gabel’s PLACE program that trains high school students to lead community conversations about challenging issues. Students learn to plan and facilitate public discussions in a series of trainings at The CENTER, the new Catlin Gabel learning and event space in Northeast Portland.

Tyler Hillison ’18 traveled to Washington, D.C., in April to represent Save the Children Action Network, and to participate in a three-day Advocacy Summit Conference. Tyler spoke with Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Kurt Schrader, and urged legislators to cosign bills focused on improving maternal and child survival rates and early childhood education.

23

The Caller | www.catlin.edu/thecaller

The Catlin Gabel Auction at the Portland Art Museum, March 12

Campus Events

The 20th annual Catlin Gabel Surgery Day took place in January, with parent-physicians leading sixth graders in handson learning experiences. The event exposes students to the science and technology of surgery and interventional medical specialties, and this year included an orthopedic casting area, a cardiology station, and a suturing lesson.

The 2016 Catlin Gabel Diversity Conference in February featured a keynote speech from filmmaker Angela Tucker and a variety of student-led events, including affinity group meetings and an activity designed to increase understanding about privilege in its many forms. Catlin Gabel welcomed visiting students and adults from Central Catholic, De La Salle North Catholic, Jesuit High School, and Oregon Episcopal School.

Science and Engineering

Anirudh Jain ’16 led an after-school program this year at Meadow Park Middle School designed to guide students through the scientific process and develop science projects of their own. Anirudh helped students formulate ideas, conduct research, and prepare their findings for presentation.

Nikhil Murthy ’17 presented his robotics research work at the 33rd Annual Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference in October 2015. As part of the conference proceedings, he also published a paper detailing his work, "Brewing Quality in Android Robots."

Sixth grader Nayan Murthy represented Catlin Gabel at the state level 2016 Intel Northwest Science Expo in April, and won First Place in the category of Energy for his research on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Hydrogen Fuel Cell.

Scholarship Honors

Nadya Okamoto ’16 was named a Gates Millennium Scholar, one of only 1,000 students nationwide to receive the honor, a scholarship that can be used to pursue a degree in any undergraduate major and selected graduate programs. In February she received another of the nation's most prestigious scholarship awards when she was named a 2016 Coca-Cola Scholar. In the fall Nadya will attend Harvard College.

Athletics

See the complete list of team and individual athletic accomplishments at www.catlin.edu/athletics

Surgery Day demonstration

In January the Catlin Gabel Middle School robotics team, the Average Joes, claimed the title of 3rd Place Champions at the Lego Robotics Championship. The victory means that the team is ranked in the top six out of 460 teams in the state of Oregon—the top 99th percentile of Lego Robotics Champions.

Catlin Gabel’s US Robotics team, 1540 the Flaming Chickens, competed at the two-day Pacific Northwest Championships and emerged as the third-highest seeded team at the event. With their strong finish, the team earned a spot in the World Championships in St. Louis, and in that April 26-27 competition they advanced as far as the quarterfinals.

Arts

A poem by Seth Talyansky ’19, "Corrupt," was one of ten winners in the high school division of the 2016 Oregon Poetry Association Student Contest, announced in March 2016. In April, his poem “I Stalk the Night,” written in Russian, was named a winner of a Russian-led International Youth Poetry Contest.

Ameya Okamoto ’18 was awarded the national Gold Medal Award from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in April for her art piece titled, “Black Lives.” Her artwork will be shown in New York City at Carnegie Hall in a June awards ceremony, and then displayed as part of a traveling exhibition that will be shown in all 50 states.

Mock Trial

Over two days of competition in March at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse in downtown Portland, the Catlin Gabel Mock Trial Blue Team competed in the State competition and emerged with a second place finish. To reach the final, the team won three matchups and earned their ranking as one of the two highest-scoring teams among the 18 opponents at the competition.

The Oregon Athletic Directors Association 2015-16 All Sport Award was presented to Catlin Gabel in spring 2016, marking the 16th time the school has received the honor.

January: Ian McClanan ’16 received a Play It Forward Award, an Oregon Sports Awards honor in recognition of community service. Ian has been volunteering throughout his high school career with the Meyer Boys & Girls Club athletic programs.

February: Eighth graders Kai Rayle and Will Attig competed in the 2016 Junior Olympics in Cleveland, a U.S. Fencing Association national championship event. Kai placed 29th out of 235 in Cadet Men's Épée and Will placed 31st out of 225 fencers in Cadet Men's Saber. • At the Nordic state Championships Maya Rayle ’18 placed 7th in State. She excelled in both stages: a 6k skate race and a 5k classic race.

March: Fourth grader Adrienne Tam competed in two major swimming tournaments, the Oregon State 10 & Under Championship and the Northwest Region Short Course Age Group Championship, and established herself as one of the best swimmers in the nation. She earned 1st Place finishes at both the state and regional level, and broke a 42-year Oregon State swimming record. Adrienne is now ranked in the top 10 in the nation in the butterfly event.

April: Eagles baseball pitcher Matt Maynard ’17 was named the Northwest Region Pitcher of the Week by MaxPreps/USA for pitching a complete-game no-hitter against Colton High School. Matt struck out 12 batters in the win. • Juma Sei ’18 set a meet record and school record for the 400-meter dash at the Lower Columbia Invitational. Juma broke a school record that had been held for 26 years. • Maya Rayle ’18 broke an 18-year school record for the 800 meters at the 52nd Centennial Invitational. Her time placed her as the 3rd fastest 800 runner in Oregon and the 11th fastest sophomore in the nation.

The Caller | Spring 2016 24

Alumni Interview

Christopher Keyes ’92 The Outside editor on Type Two Fun at Catlin Gabel, and why he still wants to identify every plant he sees Interview by Ken DuBois

Were you interested in outdoor adventures while at Catlin Gabel?

Yes. Catlin is really where I grew my love for the outdoors. The head of the Middle School at the time, Roy Parker, took my friend and me up Mt. Hood—I think it was between eighth grade and ninth grade—and that was a seminal experience for me. I thought it was the most incredible, fun, exciting, slightly dangerous thing that I’d ever done, and I wanted more of that.

That was before we had an Outdoor Education Program.

There was a little bit of an outdoor program, it was just sort of nascent at the time. There was another teacher, Wendy May, who did a lot of outdoor education trips, and I also did an eight-day trip in the Goat Rocks Wilderness with Robin Schauffler. I think that was in eighth grade. That was another incredible experience for me.

Eights days in the wilderness—that’s a major trip.

Oh, absolutely. I had never carried a backpack and travelled that way before.

I still have vivid, vivid memories of a lightening storm, experiencing that in a tent with another friend of mine, and vivid memories of all the organization that went into that. It was an eye-opening experience for me. It was something I knew nothing about.

Christopher Keyes ’92 Vice President and Editor at Outside Magazine Based in Sante Fe, New Mexico Skiier, runner, cyclist, world traveller Former Articles Editor at Skiing magazine Former Editorial Director at Texas Monthly Photo courtesy of Outside magazine

time, but you look back on it very fondly.

That kind of characterizes almost all adventure sports.

You went on to study environmental science policy at Duke. Was that an interest you developed at Catlin Gabel?

That was absolutely at Catlin, and that was one hundred percent Dave Corkran.

He just had an incredible passion for enDid you do the Cape Arago trip? vironmentalism, and would tell the most Yes, as a senior. I was one of the counengaging stories about growing up and selors. seeing old growth forests that had been destroyed in his lifetime. And encourSo you were learning what it means to be aging all of us to be better stewards of truly miserable. the land. He had an elective my senior Absolutely. Yeah, the common expression year, environmental studies, and that was at the magazine now is “Type Two Fun.” probably my favorite class at Catlin. He That means you’re miserable at the was just an incredibly engaging teacher

and very inspiring.

You were combining those studies with actual outdoor experience.

One of my favorite things about that class was that we would go into the forest between the Lower School and the soccer field. And we had to learn to identify all the plants in there. I loved that. To this day I like to be able to know about my surroundings because of that. I don’t like to go on a hike and not know what the plants and animals are around there. I like to be able to name that stuff.

Are you trying to express some of those early influences through your magazine?

Without question. With Outside the whole goal of the publication is to inspire people to live a more active lifestyle, and experience an adventurous lifestyle. And the readership we attract is fundamentally going to be pretty receptive to that message of environmentalism and wanting to protect those places. So it’s definitely a sort of advocacy journalism that we practice, but I don’t know that it’s necessarily reaching the audience that really needs to hear it.

It’s an enormous audience in any case.

With the print and digital versions of Outside combined, you may have as many as seven million readers. Is that correct?

Yeah. You’re scaring me.

The Caller | Spring 2016 28

From the Archives

1966

1980

The Catlin Gabel experience has been captured in a wide variety of photographs, including these images from the school’s archival collection. If you have photographs you’d like to add to the collection, please contact us at archive@catlin.edu.

Peggy Schauffler ’78 and Eric Rosenfeld ’83 appear as students in these images—can you name others?

Join the discussion online at catlin.edu/thecaller.

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1950s

1978 The Caller | Spring 2016 30

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